One Week Ago
by Sieg Leonhart
Summary: Lucy comes back from the seven years time skip just to find out her rent is too high to be paid. Following Mirajane's advice, the blonde finds herself calling Gray's house her new home for at least one week.
1. Monday

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Monday<strong>

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><p>Lucy was sitting on a bench in her beloved guild, Fairy Tail, with her was Mirajane discussing the celestial mage's current situation.<p>

Lucy was back from the seven years time skip, just to find out her rent was huge, and there was just no way she could pay for it. The blonde tried some rooms at Fairy Hills, but they were all too expensive. Mira like always, gave her the smartest of the ideas.

"Why don't you sleep at Natsu's for the week, just until you find yourself a place to stay. I'm sure he won't mind."

"I don't know Mira-chan, I've seen Natsu's room, and I don't think I can live in that mess, even if just for one week." Lucy replied.

"Well why not Erza's then. Her room is big enough for the whole Fairy Tail." Mira stated.

"You're right, but since Jellal confessed to her, she's been living with him, now all those rooms are available... for rent that is." Lucy's face dropped to the cold wood of the bar's counter. "I don't know what to do anymore!" She cried.

"Try Gray's." Mira spoke again.

"Gray's? I don't think it'd be a good idea."

"Why not?" Mira asked.

"Juvia would kill me." Lucy's fingers started to tremble with the thought.

"She doesn't need to know." Mira blurted.

"Mira I didn't know this side of yours." Lucy smiled.

"Don't say such things, it'll make me look bad." Mira blushed.

"Gray is probably the best option I must admit, but I just can't ask him." Lucy's heart almost stopped beating when she received her answer.

"It's ok with me. I wouldn't turn my back to a friend." Gray popped out of nowhere making Lucy go extremely red.

"Gray? Oh lord. That's so embarrassing." Lucy looked away.

"What? You just confessed that I'm your best choice. Are you taking it back?" Gray looked a bit disappointed.

"No I'm not... I just had never felt so embarrassed in my life." The blonde answered.

"Don't worry, it's just Gray. What could go wrong?" Mira said with a sweet smile.

"Sure Lucy, it's just me." Gray gave her a smile she hadn't seen before, a smile that said I'm here if you need me. It's very weird to read other people's smiles, but then again, some people can talk with looks, sounds, or expressions, are smiles that different from those?

"Ok, I agree, but you have to promise me you won't let Juvia know anything about it." Lucy looked very serious.

"What made you think I'd tell her anything? And from all the people why Juvia is the one who can't know anything?" Lucy gave Gray a look.

"How dense can someone be?" Asked Mira.

"Tell me about it." Lucy replied.

"You two are just messing with me." Gray ran his hand through his hair.

"Sure." Lucy winked, and gave him a playful smile. "Mira, I'm leaving earlier. I need to pack my things."

"Oh, it's ok, I'll make up some crazy story if anyone ask me anything." Mira answered.

"Thank you Mira-chan. Gray you're coming with me, since I don't know the way to your house." Lucy grabbed Gray's hand, and dragged the ice mage leaving behind three confused mages... well actually two mages and a cat.

As soon as Lucy and Gray were out, Erza's curiosity took over her body. The Titania moved like lighting to the bar's counter.

"Where did they go?" Erza asked Mira, who was now just cleaning up some cups.

"I don't know." Mira lied.

"I know you know something. Now tell me." Erza's face was a mix of anger and curiosity.

"Where is Gray? That droopy-eyes has second intentions with Lucy!" Natsu shouted.

"I'm sure they're just hanging around." Mira answered.

"Sure..." Replied a suspicious looking Erza.

Lucy and Gray had already gathered the celestial mage's clothes, which were at Macao's house, since the blonde didn't pay for the seven years of her rent, they put her things on the streets, someone saw them, and gave them to someone from the guild.

The two mages made it to Gray's house. Lucy carefully examined his residence. It wasn't that big, but wasn't small either, for a single person it was pretty spacious.

"I'll put your things on my room." Gray carried Lucy's things to his room.

"I hope you're not suggesting anything with that." Lucy chuckled.

"I'm suggesting you take my room, I'll sleep somewhere at the living room." Gray answered after he finished setting the blonde's things on his room.

"Such a gentleman." Lucy teased. "Will you really let me sleep here?"

"Of course I will. Any problem with that?"

"Not really, I just thought I'd sleep in a separated room." The blonde had a fading blush on her cheeks.

"I wouldn't let you sleep at the couch Lucy. Don't you know me?" Gray asked, and for once Lucy stopped to think about what he said, she had never thought about him like this before, it was always just missions, and eventually all the destruction Team Natsu caused, she never had a moment alone with the ice alchemist to get to know him better.

"Of course you wouldn't. You're such a gentleman aren't you?" Lucy teased again.

"Keep the gentleman joke, and I might change my mind about letting you sleep here." Gray smiled playfully. Lucy just returned the smile.

After making herself at home, and spreading all her things over Gray's room. Lucy took a shower and went to her new writing place, which was Gray's bed, but with her current situation it was quite a difficult task to ask for inspiration. The blonde couldn't focus.

"Is it that novel you were writing?" Gray asked with a curious look.

"Yes, the one you read without my permission." Lucy glared.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I saw it laying over your table, and at first I didn't want to, but when I started reading it, I just couldn't stop. It's really good." Gray said not really looking at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really, I wish you'd let me read the rest." The ice mage smiled.

"Hm... maybe I'll let you take a look at the first chapter." Lucy pondered.

"I read it already, let me read the second."

"You read a whole chapter that night!" Lucy's face was one of surprise.

"Yes, I did, the beginning makes me want to know the end. Now I'm just curious about what's going to happen." Gray sat beside her on the bed.

"What if I'd let you read it? I think you'll just make fun of the way I see things." Lucy blushed slightly looking down.

"Try me." Gray simply answered.

After a huge pause and uncomfortable silence, Lucy finally spoke. "Ok, I'll let you see it, I shouldn't since I promised Levy she'd be the first to read it, just don't tell her alright?" Lucy looked almost in pain while handing Gray the manuscripts.

"You don't need to ask me that." Gray replied.

Lucy spent half an hour alternating from walking in circles, going to the kitchen and watching Gray as he read her novel.

"I'm done with chapter two and three." Gray finally spoke.

"So how was it? Good? Bad? Tell me!" Lucy was radiant, a smile on her face that showed nothing , but enthusiasm, and maybe a little bit of concern.

"I like it Lucy, you should really consider becoming a writer." Gray said giving Lucy thumbs up.

"Really? Thank you Gray! That means a lot."

"Yeah, really, I'll take a shower, and go to sleep. I have an important mission tomorrow." Lucy frowned as soon as she heard Gray's words.

"Important mission? How come I don't know about it? Don't tell me Natsu, Erza and you left me out of it because you think it's too dangerous." Lucy pouted.

"That's not it. I'm going alone this time, I'm broke, and it's just the beginning of the month." The ice maker answered.

"Then I'm going with you. I'm staying here with you for a week, so I want to repay you somehow."

"I see no problem with that since the mission is quite simple." Gray handed the report with the information about the mission to Lucy.

"I see. So we'll have to take part in a theater play again?" Asked Lucy with an annoyed look.

"Basically."

"I guess it should be fine." Lucy stopped sighed, and then laid her back on Gray's bed. "I'm going to bed Gray. Wake me up tomorrow when you're going to leave."

"Good night Lucy." Said Gray in a very low tone. Lucy just smiled, and repeated his words. Gray left his room to take his shower and move to his new bed, at least for a week.

The next day came, and with it, the morning light that can be so warm and disturbing at the same time. Lucy woke up with the light touching her skin, it felt good, it felt calming, it made her wake in a good mood.

At the other side of the house, Gray also woke up with the warm morning light, but it was nothing like Lucy's morning light, it was too hot, it was like a flash bang to his eyes as soon as he opened them and worst of all, it woke him up when he was having such a good dream.

"Gray, stop being lazy and get out of the couch already." Lucy said already dressed.

"I don't want to." Gray laid facing the couch and put his pillow over his head.

"Come on, we have to get going, or we'll be late." Lucy started to lightly shake Gray's arm.

"Lucy, you saw the wrong time on the report card, this one is for another play, ours is at seven PM." Gray said much to Lucy's dismay.

"What did you say? I told you to wake me up early, but you didn't say anything. You're telling me I woke up at six AM for nothing?" The blonde was now shaking her friend frantically.

"Lucy stop that will ya? I'm trying to sleep." Lucy ripped the pillow from Gray's head and tossed it away.

"If I have to wake up this time, you'll wake up too." The blonde glared at the ice mage, now shaking him with full force.

"What are you doing? Get off me!" Gray grabbed her arms in order to stop her, but when he did, she lost balance and fell towards him landed abruptly on his chest. "Ouch!"

Lucy was facing Gray's chest, which obviously was bare. The blonde rose her face a bit just to realize Gray was also looking at her, causing their lips to touch for a matter of seconds.

"What are you doing?" Lucy sat hiding her face with her hands. "Are you trying to steal my first kiss?"

"Where did you get that from, I was just worried. I thought you got hurt when you fell." Gray's eyes got wide when he saw a blush coming from his friend's cheeks.

"Whatever. Let's go to this dammed mission!" Lucy moved ahead not looking at Gray.

"But it isn't the right time!" Gray let out a long sigh. "Wait, I'm going too."

Lucy waited for Gray to get ready and they left to the train station. It wasn't even near seven PM yet, but they decided they could use the time to memorize their texts.

Already in the train heading to their destination, Lucy was acting differently for obvious reasons, she almost kissed Gray a while ago, but the boy didn't seem to be bothered at all. Suddenly she let her mind travel through the possible reasons for the ice maker's behavior.

At first she thought it was just his natural way of dealing with this kind of situation, and that he'd be more experienced than her when it came to love life. Then she thought maybe he was a playboy who was used to kiss many girls and didn't care about them as much as her, even if it was with her. Eventually, she came to a conclusion, she decided her kiss wasn't good enough, and that he should be thinking she was a bad kisser.

In her mind that made sense somehow, don't ask her how, it just made sense.

"Hey Gray." Lucy called shyly.

"What?" The boy turned to look at her.

"Aren't you feeling a bit different?" Lucy asked.

"How different?" Lucy's jaw dropped. Was he teasing her, or was it possible for someone to be this dense?

"I don't know, maybe feeling nervous about something?" Lucy tried again.

"Not really. Why should I?" Gray smiled.

"Hm... forget it, it's nothing." Lucy turned to look through the window. The rest of the trip went in silence.

They arrived at the theater, and Gray went straight to the person who made the request.

"I'm here. Where are the other actors?" Gray asked.

"Oh I see you came earlier, I like that. Now who is that pretty girl with you?" Asked the man who looked around twenty five, he had short blonde hair and green eyes. Lucy seemed to get bothered by the older man's compliment, so she answered before Gray could say anything.

"I'm his girlfriend." Lucy had narrowed eyes, showing discontentment.

"She's going to take part in the play as well." Gray informed.

"Oh that's just perfect!" The man looked a bit too feminine to the mage's reference of man. He clapped his hands in enthusiasm, jumping like a happy rabbit.

"What's s great about it?" Lucy asked already worried about the guy's answer.

"It's a secret, but I'm telling you, you'll like it." The guy left in a hurry performing ballet moves in his way.

"That was just..."

"Weird." Lucy completed her friend's phrase. They followed the man to a separated room.

"Here you can memorize your texts. Take your time." With that he said.

Gray and Lucy picked their texts there where on a small table in front of them, and started reading.

"That won't work, there's no way I can memorize that in time." Gray said messing his hair around with his hands.

"We have to, you took the job, so make it like a Fairy Tail mage, we don't ever give up." Lucy cheered.

"If it was about beating strong mages I'd gladly continue, but this is much harder."

"Gray, what you said was just insane you do realize that right?"

"I can't do that Lucy, it's too much to store in too little time." Gray looked defeated before he even started.

"I'll be here to help you, come on don't give it up yet." Lucy unconsciously put a hand over Gray's. They stayed like that for a while, before she realized what she was doing. Lucy quickly too her hand away from his looking very abashed.

"I'll do my best." Gray smiled at her.

"We'll make it together." Lucy smiled back at him.

They spent two long hours playing their characters until Lucy suddenly froze. Gray looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong Lucy?"

"It's this... this..." Before the blonde could finish her sentence, the door was open revealing the man who talked with them earlier.

"It's time to you show shine." The man said.

"Which means?" Gray asked.

"That it's your turn on the stage."

Lucy started to panic. "I can't go I'm not ready yet."

Two women went inside dragging them to another room. There, they got make up and their clothes. The play was about elves and humans in some kind of forbidden love. Lucy's character was a elf princess, and Gray's was a human swordsman.

Lucy wore a short dress that had some features of a leaf, she wore golden jewelry, bracelets, earrings and rings, she also wore a golden tiara.

Gray wore a black coat with a white shirt under it, and black pants. He kept his silver necklace and bracelet, and also the chain on his pants. Gray's sword was on his waist.

"Go now!" They shouted for the two mages.

Lucy was the first to appear. Her scene was about hunters killing elves at the forest. Lucy was hidden on a bush waiting for them to go away, but they didn't go anywhere. The hunters caught her and held her prisoner.

"Now it's your turn, go go go!" The man informed Gray.

"Alright I'm going!" Gray sounded annoyed.

Gray's scene was about seeing the fleeing hunters with Lucy on a carriage. He tried to stop them, but couldn't keep up with the carriage.

The rest of the scenes were about Lucy being humiliated by humans on a castle and Gray looking for her.

The swordsman finally gets to the castle, but as soon as he does, he is surrounded by hunters, The first two hunters come running towards him. The swordsman swings his sword to cut the first one in the waist in the right, while the other comes from the left and tries to stab a sword in his heart. The swordsman is able to spin holding the dead hunter's body, putting the dead body in the way of the hunter's sword, then the ice mage kicks the dead body over the other hunter, which causes him to fall with his sword stuck on his fallen comrade. The swordsman finishes the hunter with a descending strike with his sword.

"You finally arrived traitor, how dare you step inside my castle when you've turned your back to me and all humanity after I declared war to the elves? You're no better than these filthy creatures." The man is holding the elf princess's body, but then throws her to the floor.

"What you do to the elves is wrong, and even though you are now the king after your father's death died, I can not allow you to continue slaughtering the elves. Prepare yourself." The swordsman gave the king a challenging look, and stood in fighting stance.

"Fool! Do you really wish to die here for this animal? So be it!" With that the king comes running in swordsman's direction with two rapiers. The king uses fast fencing stabbing strikes to try and pierce the swordsman's body, who is able to dodge all of them. It's only when the swordsman realizes the princess is caged, and under a descending stone block moving very slowly that he rushes to her side, but lets his guard down in the process, one chance was enough for the king to finish the fight. The king pierces through the swordsman's body with both the rapiers.

"I told you, it's useless, I shall rule this land, and make the elves my slaves." The king gave a sinister laugh.

The swordsman lies motionless on the floor, he glances at the cage and sees the princess ready to get crushed by the huge stone block.

"No! I will never allow that to happen. Get ready, I won't face death alone." The swordsman stands up with his last breath, and cuts the cage allowing the princess the get out of the cage in the last minute.

"I shall finish your miserable life now." The king comes once again, the swordsman goes in the king's encounter with the speed he can manage after the strikes he suffered.

The theater lights go missing for a while and when they're back the swordsman is lying on the floor, at the other side the king stands proud and going in the princess direction. The princess try to run away, but she's weak from all the mistreatment she received. The king is about to put his hands on the princess when the armor he was using falls on the floor divided in two.

"I promised I wouldn't die alone." The swordsman lifts his sword showing the kings blood streaming down on it.

"I can not believe. How can this happen?" The king's body falls forward to the floor.

The princess comes running towards the swordsman, and holds him in her arms. "Do not worry my brave knight. You shall be fine. I'll heal you with my magic." The princess starts hovering her hands over the swordsman's body. Before Gray could give sequence to the dialog, Lucy speaks once again. "Looks like it might be too late for the normal healing." Lucy blushes and Gray stares at her confused. "I will have to use this." Lucy leans close to Gray's face and pasting a passionate kiss on his lips.

Gray's eyes are still wide from the shock, but eventually he accepts the kiss, now kissing her back with the same intensity. His hands travel through the back of her head pulling her closer to him. Realizing they've been like that for a little to long, Lucy breaks the kiss.

The rest of the play goes on the swordsman and the princess getting married, and building a new land for humans and elves.

All the actors salute the public that applaud their performance. The curtains are down hiding the mages. Lucy stands up trying to get away from the incoming questions, but she is surprised by the request maker.

"You were splendid, magnificent." The man says to Lucy who can't stop blushing.

"Ok, now I think I'll be on my way..." Lucy tries to avoid the man, but he blocks her way.

"I suggested the kiss scene, but I didn't know you'd agree with kissing your boyfriend in front of all those people." Lucy freezes.

"What did you say?" Gray arrives behind Lucy.

"I said Lucy agreed to kiss you, even when she didn't have to, it was optional." The man let out the truth.

"Is that so?" Gray turned to ask Lucy.

"Well... kinda, not exactly..." Lucy couldn't help being nervous.

"Thank you." Lucy's head jolted in Gray's direction. "You told me we'd make it if we stayed together, and you went to the point of agreeing to kiss me in order to do so. So thank you Lucy." Gray blushed while smiling to his blonde friend.

"You're always welcome Gray." The blonde returned the smile. "But we should probably get back to Fairy Tail now." Lucy said trying to change the subject.

"You're right, let's go."

They bid their good byes and went back to Fairy Tail, the way back was fast, and once again, in full silence.

The train arrived at the station at nine PM, so the two mages decided it would be better to just go back home instead of going to the guild.

They arrived at Gray's house, and after a long shower, Lucy went to Gray's bed and fell tired on it. She looked at her friend who was laying on the couch and constantly changing positions. Lucy took her manuscript and started writing on it.

"Inspiration is leaving me." The blonde whispered, but it was loud enough to earn her an answer.

"What are you writing about now?" Gray asked from the other side of the house.

"About the same thing, I'm not trying to write two stories at the same time, it'd take too much of my already missing inspiration." Lucy sighed. "Do you think I should write about something else?"

"I don't know. I think you be in trouble if you tried, because you would have to think about another plot." Gray replied.

"What do you think about a story about a vampire who never gets close to any girl, but then fall in love with the smell of the new girl from his school, then decides to avoid her, but the need for her is bigger, and eventually they fall for each other." Lucy said as Gray yawned.

"Are you serious? So the guy never looked at any other girl, and then he magically fall in love with this girl's smell and decides she is the love of his life... his eternal life. That's lame in my opinion." Gray said with the all the honesty he could gather.

"I'm just kidding. I read this story on a book, I think the book was called... twi... I don't remember, but I actually liked it, the way they fall in love is stupid and totally out of reality, but it's about vampires who shines in the sun... I was wrong to expect much from a story like this."

"I wonder if people don't realize how crazy a love between vampires and humans is." Gray turned to look at Lucy.

"Hm... it's not that bad, I think it's about the forbidden love and stuff, but I heard many people got depressed while reading this book, because they wanted a love life like the one of the main characters, and started thinking their life were boring." Lucy stood up and went to the couch, she looked at Gray who was now sitting on the couch, then she sat beside him.

"Let me see what you got up until now, maybe I can help you with that." Gray said pointing to her manuscript.

"Levy is gonna kill me." Lucy sighed while handing the manuscript. Gray read the manuscript for about fifteen minutes.

"Well... I have no idea about what you should write there." Gray laid once again, his head almost on Lucy's lap.

"Wow, that helps a lot." Lucy said with sarcasm all over her face. "What I need here, is a cute phrase from the guy to the girl. As you see, she is going through a lot, and he can't be with her, cause he had to travel to another place for a while. He is currently writing a letter for her."

"Well I don't know the guy that well, since I didn't read the whole story, only parts of it." Gray explained.

"Let me ask you something. If you were in the guys place, and you had to write a letter for the girl. What you you write?" Lucy asked moving closer to her friend, her right thigh were now touching his head.

They heard a noise from outside, and Gray lifted his head a little to look through the window, when he laid his head back, he didn't feel the couch's fabric, instead he felt the fabric from Lucy's pajama, and the warmth of her skin, so soft. He decided he was going to pretend he didn't know what was happening.

"If I had to write something for her?" I don't know, I don't even know the girl, if I knew her, and was really in love with her, then I'd think about something."

"What if you were writing to me then? Wait, I know you're not in love with me, but I'm your friend... you know me so you'd know what to write... right?" Lucy rested her hand on Gray's head, before she knew it, she was gently caressing his hair.

"I guess you're right, but I'll just pretend I'm in love with you then, that will help me thinking about something." Gray closed his eyes enjoying the touch from the blonde's hand.

"Do as you want." Lucy replied.

"I'd say something like..." Gray paused for a moment. "I'll turn off the lights and let you sleep. Just close your eyes relax and breath in slowly." Lucy kept close attention to his words. Gray weren't really good letting out his feelings, she had never seen him doing so.

"Please continue." Asked Lucy.

"I'll try to." After five minutes of more thinking, Gray continued. "No, don't feel lonely cause, I'll be right here by your side, if you should awake into the night, keep dreaming cause I'll be keeping your heart in mine. Don't you know I'll always be here? Even in the hardest times. Don't you know I'm always right here?"

"Gray... that's so nice, I almost wish I'd be away from you, just to read something like that in a letter." Lucy had a weak smile on her face. "Keep it up... please."

Gray sat and turned to face her. "Are you really going to use that?"

"Who knows, now just finish what you started." Lucy smiled.

"Let me think for a while..." Gray paused once again. "When you're feeling lost... don't give up because it's alright."

"Why is it alright? I- she is all alone." Lucy rested her face on Gray's chest, who embraced her and gently laid his chin on top of her head.

"When you're feeling lost. Don't give up because it's alright. When you close your eyes I'm by your side." Gray whispered on Lucy's ear.

Lucy melted in his embrace, she didn't feel like going back to her bed, she wanted to be close to him, even when she knew he didn't mean those words, they felt so real, it felt so good to be close to someone. She didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Gray?" Lucy asked in a shy, and very cute tone.

"If I close my eyes... will you be by my side?" The blonde's question caught him off guard. He was surprised, and a little nervous, but still answered.

"I will."

"And when I open them will you still be here?" Lucy looked up to face him, gazing straightly into his eyes. Gray was very nervous, and he didn't seem to be doing a good job with hiding it.

"I will. I promise." Was all Gray managed as an answer.

"You know Gray... those girls who wanted to have a love life similar to the one they had on that book." Lucy spoke softly.

"What about them?"

"I think they were wrong to wish for something like that. We don't have to live in a fantasy to find love, and even though it's really hard to find, I believe there's still true love out there, and maybe it's closer than you'd ever imagine." Lucy looked at Gray's face that was now red as a tomato. The blonde just smiled.

"You're so cute Gray." Lucy said giggling.

Lucy closed her eyes, relaxed, and breathed in slowly... and most importantly, she didn't feel lonely at all.

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><p><strong>AN: In case someone notices. Yes, what Gray told Lucy is actually a song from Faber Drive, the song is called By Your Side,**

**Sorry for Twilight fans. It's just a matter of opinion, don't hate me for the joke xD**

**I'm not a review collector, but I see so many fovorites, story alerts and no reviews, please don't just read my story, let me know what you think about it too. A good review makes anyone's day :)**


	2. Tuesday

**Sieg here.**

**So, I'd like to thank you for the nice reviews and PMs for this fic, it makes me want to write even more. **

**Here is chapter two.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Tuesday<strong>

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><p>Lucy was the first to wake up. The blonde had her eyes still closed thinking about what happened on the previous day.<p>

Could it be? Was it really true?

She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to find someone still there by her side.

"Lucy? You're awake already." Gray's voice told her all she needed to know.

"Good morning droopy-eyes." Lucy teased.

"Now you don't want to call me droopy-eyes this early in the morning, I'm not a morning person at all." The ice mage confessed.

"Neither am I." Lucy replied.

"Five more minutes?" Gray offered.

"Five more minutes." Lucy agreed with her sweetest smile. Something was different about her today, she was still beautiful, and cute like Gray is used to call her, at least on his mind he would, but today something was making her look beyond beautiful, if Gray went close to call someone perfect, this someone would be Lucy, and it would have to be now.

"Lucy..."

"Yeah?" Her voice was like music to him, something was wrong with him, or something was too right with her.

"You're beautiful." Gray let out without thinking too much.

"I didn't hear you right. Could you say it again?" Lucy sat beside him, now looking at his face.

"You're... beautiful. Why are you making me repeat that? I'm sure you heard it at the first time." Gray's face wasn't red as Lucy expected, but he still acted very shy.

"You're so cute when you're blushing. Why didn't you blush this time?" Lucy teased the ice mage once again.

"Because I don't feel like it." Gray smirked and then stood up. "Come on, we gotta go, or we'll be late for today's party."

"You're such a busy guy. How come you have something to do everyday?" Lucy was distracted, when she looked at Gray she realized he was changing right in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing?" The blonde covered her eyes with her hands, making sure she 'accidentally' left a gap between two fingers. "Gray... your clothes!"

"Shit. When did that happen?" The ice mage started looking all over for his pants. Lucy picked them up on the floor and threw them in his direction, causing Gray to go momentary go blind and lose balance. The ice maker slipped on the socks he'd just taken out and fell with a loud thud.

Lucy who had been trying to help up until now, couldn't help but laugh. The blonde laughed like there would be no tomorrow, to the point she had to wipe some tears from her eyes.

"Now get dressed you exhibitionist." Lucy left the house to take some fresh air. She thought about the party Gray had just mentioned.

"Hey Gray! What party is that?" Lucy asked from outside.

Gray joined her after a few seconds. "It's going to be on Fairy Tail. I thought Natsu told you, since you're always with him." The ice mage looked away for a while, but it was enough to show the slightest hint of jealous in his last words.

"That's not true. I do spend a lot of time with you and Erza as well." Lucy muttered.

"I didn't say you don't, I just pointed something obvious. You do spend a lot of time with Natsu, to the point people in the guild start making up rumors about you two being together." Gray looked a little uncomfortable with the current subject.

"But Gray, I'm staying at your house for a whole week. I could have asked Natsu to stay at his instead." The celestial spirit mage gave her friend a tight hug. "Don't tell me you're jealous?" The blonde asked in a teasing tone.

"Like I would..." Gray's face betrayed him. The boy's face was somewhere between nervous and anxious.

"Sure. Let's go, or we'll be late for the party." Said a giggling Lucy.

The two mages left Gray's house heading towards Fairy Tail. The way to Fairy Tail had never been so long for Gray. Lucy couldn't stop teasing the poor wizard, who pretended to be bothered when he was actually enjoying it.

Fairy Tail was within sight, but from far away the music could be heard already. The furniture was being tossed away through the windows along with some mages, Natsu being one of them. Erza came out of from the guild's door and brought Natsu back inside holding him by his scarf, Happy flew around them with a worried look.

"We're home." Gray said sweat dropping. "Noticed." Lucy agreed also sweat dropping.

As soon as the two wizards stepped inside their guild, they felt like stepping inside apocalypse. Gray could even picture happy with a sign saying the end is near, and with end it meant Erza's patience.

"Is it the party you mentioned before?" Lucy asked with an annoyed face. "Don't blame me, I'm also the victim here." Gray replied with the same annoyed look.

"Hey Lucy! Where have you been? Let's go on a mission now!" Natsu came out of freaking nowhere as fast as lightning. Jet secretly got envy. The fire mage dragged Lucy, who looked at Gray just to spot a frown on his face.

"Gray-sama! Juvia has been looking all over for you." Came Juvia also from who-knows-where. Must all the people in Fairy Tail appear when you less expect them? From afar, Lucy watched as Juvia hugged Gray's right arm, the same arm that she laid in so comfortably not so long ago. If Lucy would use take over right now, she'd take form of jealousy. On the other side Gray wasn't dealing that well with the jealousy subject either.

"So Lucy, pick a mission, any mission, right Happy?" Natsu looked like he had just won on lottery.

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted. "Lucy, we've been missing you. Why didn't you come to our house instead of Gray's? The cat looked as he was about to cry.

"Because... because..." Lucy couldn't tell them why, it would make them feel bad.

"I'm also interested in knowing the reason." Came Erza's voice from behind them, making Lucy jump in alarm.

"I... well you see." Lucy searched the depths of her mind looking for an excuse, but none could be found. Noticing that, Mira made the savior move.

"I know why she didn't go to Natsu and Happy's house." They all turned their attention to Mira, including Lucy.

"It's because I told her Gray was the one from the team who spent less time with her, so I thought it would be a good opportunity for them to know each other better." Mira smiled sweetly. Who would have thought that behind such a cute smile was such a meticulous mind.

"I see. Sounds like a good reason." Erza smiled in her own way. Erza's smiles weren't sweet, or cute. Even smiling the Titania's exposed her strong personality.

"I didn't understand it that well, but Lucy, let's get a mission and leave." Natsu insisted much to Lucy's dismay.

"I'm not going on a mission today Natsu. I'm tired from my last one." Lucy let out accidentally. The blonde automatically covered her mouth with her hands.

"But Lucy, our last mission was a month ago." Explained Happy making Lucy extremely unhappy. **(A/N: Jokes with Happy's name, who can resist them? I can't)**

"That's right. Why would you still be tired from such a mission?" Erza went back in her curiosity mode giving intense gazes at her team mate. Lucy at the other hand had a puzzled look and more gazes coming her way.

"She was in a mission with me." Gray's voice came to the blonde's rescue this time.

"With you?" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"Any problem with that flame-brain?" Gray glared at his rival.

"You bet I have snow flake!" Natsu threw a punch on Gray just to receive another in return. They engaged in a heated battle, but in the middle of it something unusual happened, something that caught the guild's attention. Lucy held Gray's arm very close to her.

"Stop it Gray. Please stop fighting." Lucy's voice wasn't demanding, or dangerous, instead it was calm and warm. No need to mention that Gray stop instantly. The guild mates around them exchanged looks and started gossiping, while Gray and Lucy left to sit on benches.

"Lucy, why did you stop me?" Gray asked in a calmer tone.

"I hate when you and Natsu start fighting over nothing." Lucy eyes were shining, she were surely hiding some tears behind them.

"You're crying. What happened Lucy?" Gray asked cupping her face with both hands.

"It's nothing. I'm not crying. Come on, it's a party let's have some fun." Lucy pulled Gray's arm and went to a place with no people. "I think this place is alright." Lucy stated.

"Alright? For what?" Asked a confused Gray.

"To tell you that I don't like Juvia behavior towards you, it makes you look like her boyfriend." Lucy blurted.

"I had no idea it bothered you. You never told me anything like this before." Gray's eyes were wide with surprise.

"It's not that I'm jealous. I just don't like people thinking wrong about my friends." Lucy closed her eyes in a narrow way before she kept talking. "And I can see you don't like or love her back, so you should stop giving her fake hope." The blonde had her eyes still closed. Lucy felt a hand caressing her cheek, which made her open her eyes.

"It's ok Lucy. I won't give Juvia any fake hope. I don't like messing up with people's feelings."

"That's good to know... I mean... so I know you won't hurt m- Juvia." Lucy stuttered nervously, trying to find the right thing to say.

"Sorry? I didn't get the last part." Gray looked at her confused once again.

"You don't need to understand anything. Let's get back to the rest of the guild, or they'll think we're doing things here." Lucy smiled shyly.

"You're right." Gray replied.

The two of them went back to the party. Once back in their original seats on their benches, Juvia approached with a speed that made Jet go jealous again.

"What is Lucy doing with Gray-sama!" Juvia was fuming. Gray didn't mind the two girls glaring daggers at each other since Lucy never really cared about Juvia's strange behavior towards him. Foolish Gray. This time things wouldn't end up so well.

"Gray and I were just talking, but this place is all noisy, so we searched somewhere quiet to go." Lucy and Juvia kept the glaring contest going on. "But what is bothering you so much about me and Gray being closer than usual?" Lucy didn't threat the girl in any way, she was being as polite as she could, but her looks were betraying her dramatically.

"I knew it. So Lucy finally admits that Lucy is Juvia's love rival." Juvia smashed both hands on the bar's counter.

Lucy also stood up and did the same thing with her hands. "I'm not! I told you a million times, Gray and I are just friends." The ice mage felt something bad was coming his way, so he decided to calm them a bit. Foolish Gray for not noticing what he was about to do.

"Oi, calm down you two. I see both of you as good friends, so I don't want you two to-" Gray stopped in his track when he saw both girls turning their glares to him. Gray had never felt so small in front of girls in his entire life.

"Gray-sama... tell Lucy Gray-sama likes Juvia more!" Juvia threw her arms around Gray's torso.

"Come on Gray, tell her who is closer to you!" Lucy just crossed her arms and watched with boiling blood. Gray had lost his speech, and was now trying to find some excuse to get the hell out of this mess.

"What did you say match-head? You're not gonna get away with that!" Gray stood up and went flying towards Natsu. Now Jet and Happy were envious. Natsu didn't have time to dodge the Fullbuster's full speed blow that sent the fire mage flying through the window once again.

"You'll have to pay for that window." Said Mira with her trademark sweet smile.

"Don't run!" Gray went outside through another window breaking it in the process.

"Kids these days." Said Makarov already drunk before going back to drinking. Ignoring the battle outside the guild, Lucy went to another bench to stay away from Juvia. The blonde sat near Levy who was sitting with Droy, and comforting a depressed Jet.

"You're still the fastest. Don't worry." Levy offered him a smile.

"Lucy-chan?" Levy looked at her friend with a confused look. Levy noticed that Lucy didn't look all that well. "Jet, Droy, could you two please let me talk with Lucy-chan for a while?" Both mages agreed with hearts in their eyes, of course. After they left Levy started.

"What's wrong Lucy?" The blue haired girl looked really concerned about her friend.

"It's something that just happened, but I guess I'm just being selfish." Lucy smiled weakly.

"What happened Lucy? You know you can count on me for anything." Levy put a hand over Lucy's shoulder.

"It's about a boy, one that I never paid much attention up until now, and now I think I'm starting to like him." Lucy explained.

"Hm... so you're basically telling me you like Gray." Levy spoke making Lucy go all kinds of red.

"No, I didn't say that. I didn't give names, and... I said I think I'm starting to like, not that I already do!" Lucy had her eyes closed, and her head shaking in a denying motion.

"Ok, so you think you're starting to like Gray?" Levy insisted.

"No!" Lucy denied once again.

"You already do like him then?" Now Levy was really confused.

"No no no! Listen I don't like Gray. Let's change subject." Lucy let her body drop on the counter. What the celestial mage didn't know, was that not so far from there, Juvia was listening to the whole thing.

"Lucy really likes Gray-sama. No matter how much Lucy denies, Lucy does like him. Juvia must do something before Gray-sama is stolen from Juvia." Juvia quietly walked away from her hidden spot.

"Outside the guild there were two mages completely exhausted, Gray and Natsu. The boys looked up to an incoming silhouette.

The party was over and all the Fairy Tail members were out to their own homes, but one in specific weren't going anywhere. It was raining heavily in Magnolia, and Lucy stood there waiting for Gray. The blonde haven't seen her friend since the battle between him and Natsu started. Lucy decided to walk alone, but in her way back to Gray's house, she saw a shirtless ice mage sitting on that edge she'd always walk over, earning concerned looks from those two men.

"Gray?" Lucy asked her soaked friend. Gray turned around not really minding the rain, he's an ice mage, what's the point in getting worried about catching a cold?

"What are you doing out in this rain?" Gray asked bluntly.

"Looking for you. Care if I ask you the same question?" Lucy took a seat besides the ice maker.

"I need to cool down a little."

"Cool down? You? Do you want to freeze everything around?" Lucy asked trying to light up the air around them, but it was useless, as Gray didn't seem to smile at all. "What's wrong Gray? Please tell me I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about what you may think of me. Juvia told me-" Gray couldn't finish his sentence due to a wave crashing down over Lucy. Gray didn't know if he should be worried for his friend, or just amazed at the wave. Sure, it was raining a lot, but not enough to cause a wave in such a place, and then there's the fact that the wave hit only Lucy. Something was too wrong.

"Lucy dared to put her hands on Gray-sama for the last time. I told you to stay away from Gray-sama." Juvia emerged from the water with the lower half of her body still in water shape.

"Juvia what are you doing! I thought we were friends." Lucy shouted trying to stand up.

"Juvia stop it! Lucy has done nothing to deserve this." Gray rose to his feet looking very angry.

"But Juvia is doing this for Gray-sama. Gray-sama must be with Juvia." The rain got heavier, to the point that the water carried the boats away. Juvia's features became darker, and her magic stronger. "If I can't have Gray-sama... no one can." Juvia sent a massive amount of hot water at Gray who didn't move.

"Gray! What are you thinking? Get out of there!" Lucy ran as fast as she could to try and get her friend out of the way, but it was too late. The water crashed over the ice mage's body leaving only steam behind.

"Juvia... I can't believe you actually did that. Look! Look what you've done to the one you were supposed to be in love with." Lucy dropped to her knees already crying. The blonde didn't care about the psycho looking Juvia not so far from her. Instead, she felt weak, she's lost a good friend because of jealousy. What a sick feeling it could be.

"I won't forgive you for that!" Lucy said with rage emanating from her whole body. She didn't pick her keys. The blonde sprinted towards Juvia with her bare fists. She knew she wouldn't stand a chance, but she's lost control, and nothing could prevent her from doing what she was about to do. Nothing but a completely passed out Juvia, laying on an ice path. Besides the water mage was Gray carrying her to the land.

"Gray? Are you... really ok?" Lucy's enraged attitude disappeared into a relieved smile.

"I'm fine." Although the ice mage said so, his body was still suffering from the hot water. His shirt was gone, but not from strange habits this time, it was obliterated by the heat of the water.

Gray gently landed Juvia's body on the floor, and then turned to face Lucy.

"How did it happen? When did it happen?" Lucy was confused, but she didn't really care about the explanation, instead she rushed towards Gray and threw herself over the ice mage. Gray held her tightly.

"I used the steam created by the hot water to hide and approach Juvia. When she let her guard down thinking she had defeated me, I threw myself on the water and froze her from the part of her body that was still connected to the water." Gray explained.

"How did you think about all that so fast?" Lucy looked back into Gray's eyes. Their faces were almost touching, but they didn't seem to bother the proximity.

"I did the same thing during my last fight with her. Used the steam to my advantage. I've taken a good amount of the steaming water back there too, so I knew I'd endure." Gray had barely stopped talking when Lucy crossed her arms around his neck. Gray who was already holding her by her waist, understood what that meant and started leaning in for a kiss. They kept the approaching in almost slow motion, when they heard a noise, and for a moment they thought their minds were playing tricks on them, but then the noise came again. Juvia was waking up, and the last thing she needed to see was a kissing scene starred by her love, and her rival. So they broke apart with disappointed looks on their faces, and turned their attention to Juvia.

"What happened to Juvia? Juvia can't remember anything. What are Gray-sama and Lucy doing here?" Juvia had lost her dark features and her killing intent.

"Don't you remember? You've tried to kill Gray. You attacked us." Lucy explained calmly.

"Juvia would never want to hurt Gray-sama, because Juvia... loves Gray-sama." The water mage confessed her feeling, her tears starting to fall already. "Juvia is ashamed of what she did. Please forgive Juvia." The water mage let her tears fall freely, not really minding her rival in love could see her moment of weakness. "There is another thing to be confessed. Juvia bought a love potion on a strange market. The seller told Juvia that if she drink a little of the potion everyday, Gray-sama would notice her and confess his love."

"But it looks like the potion had a side effect right? You were out of control, and tried to kill your friends." Gray moved closer to Juvia. "I know you'd never do that." The ice mage helped Juvia stand up, but as soon as she did, she launched her arms around his neck holding him in a tight embrace, then collapsed in tears. Lucy couldn't help feeling bad for the water mage. After all she's done what she could to conquer the one she loves.

After they were done with their moment , the sky brightened again, and the three mages went back to their own lives. Before taking separated ways, Juvia looked at Lucy with confident eyes. "Juvia won't lose to Lucy-san, no matter what." The water mage had her hands held in fists close to her chest.

"Give me all you've got Juvia." Lucy answered also with a confident look. After that, they took their own ways, being Gray's house Lucy's destination as well. On their way to the ice mage's house, curiosity took the best of Gray, making him ask the following question.

"What did you mean with give me all you've got?" Asked the ice alchemist.

"Hm... who knows?" Answered the blonde with a playful smile.

"If I didn't know you well I'd think you were actually into that competition thing Juvia made up." Lucy's eyes snapped wide open.

"What are you talking about? That's nonsense." The blonde let out a sigh.

"You don't look so well." Gray pointed out.

"Really? Considering I'm soaked, and you have almost been killed by your..." Lucy hesitated while thinking about what to call Juvia. "...considering Juvia almost killed you."

"It's alright I'm fine, and we'll be home soon, but there is a problem." Gray scratched the back of his head with his hand.

"What could be worse than being soaked like this?" Lucy asked in already worried about the answer.

"We'll kind of have to eat frozen food today." Gray gave a wry smile.

"How do we kind of eat something?" Lucy asked crossing her arms over her chest, but before the ice maker could answer, she went ahead, and gave herself the answer she wanted to hear. "We're gonna buy us something to prepare right? That kitchen of yours look like it haven't been used for years."

"Why do you say that? My kitchen is clean." Gray asked indignant.

"Exactly. If you used your kitchen as much as you use the rest of your house, it would be a mess." Lucy pointed, and Gray couldn't help but agree with her.

"Alright. You won!"

"Yay! Don't worry I know how to cook something delicious." Lucy said radiant. Gray didn't need to know it was the only thing she knew how to cook besides those things even Natsu can cook, like rice and eggs.

**(A/N: If you don't know how to cook rice and eggs, and felt offended with even Natsu knowing it, PM me and I'll teach you to cook these xD)**

"And what would that be?" Gray asked with a curious look.

"What it is? It's a surprise." Lucy answered dragging Gray to the nearest market.

"Now I'm scared. Last time I ate a surprise something it was a surprise casserole from Erza which still makes me throw up every time I think about it. After that day I started to dislike surprises." Gray confessed much to Lucy's horror.

"I won't make you throw up, I promise." Lucy said while laughing softly.

The two made their way to the market, but had to wait outside for a while, at least until the water stopped dropping from their clothes, which wasn't that bad since Gray decided he could just freeze the water on their body, and then break it. Unfortunately, the ice mage's idea caught Lucy by surprise sending shivers all over her body when she felt the cold air surrounding her.

"I have to agree with you surprises can be quite annoying some times." Lucy said holding her arms around her torso to see if she could heat her own body.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gray jumped in place making all the ice fall from his body. Lucy stood there amazed and annoyed at the same time. It was surely a smart way to dry himself, but just for himself.

"I'm cold Gray." Lucy stated.

"Of course you are. You're covered by ice." Gray said the obvious making Lucy's cheeks heat with anger.

"That part I've noticed, but what do I do with this ice now?" Lucy pointed to her own body.

"Just do as I did. Jump and it'll fall." Gray explained. Lucy jumped, but it was such a small jump, being not enough to make the ice fall. The blonde looked back at Gray with question in her eyes.

"Do it again." Gray said nonchalantly earning him angry looks from his friend.

"I won't do it. I won't stay here jumping in the same place, it's embarrassing." Lucy looked around to see if there were too many people.

"What do we do then?" Gray asked raising his hands at his sides.

"I'll do it... if you do it too." Lucy looked at the ice mage innocently.

"No way, that's embarrassing." Gray had to dodge an incoming slap on the back of his head.

"You'll jump with me. I didn't ask you to freaking freeze my body!" Lucy glared. Gray agreed immediately with a nervous look.

And then it started. Lucy and Gray in front of the market jumping in place like they were trying to peek over a wall. People started to look at them with confusion written all over their faces, Lucy looked at Gray, and somehow the way he jumped was beginning to change. The ice mage was doing tricks while jumping, after noticing that Lucy couldn't hold her laughter. The blonde kept jumping not realizing the ice was gone from her body. Gray looked back at his laughing friend, and started laughing as well.

"Mom is this the way grown ups play with each other?" A passing by child asked her mother who had a confused look.

"No my dear, I think these two drank something they shouldn't." The mother said pulling the little girl by her small hand.

"I think it's enough already." Gray suggested. Lucy stopped jumping, and blushed instantly when she realized the people around saying things like do a back flip.

"Let's go inside this market already." Lucy dragged Gray inside in full speed.

"Coming through!" Gray said out loud making Lucy even more embarrassed. Lucy was as red as Erza's hair, but that didn't prevent her from starting to laugh again.

"Stop that, you hear me?" Lucy ordered, her smile never leaving her face. "Why do you do that to me? Do you enjoy making me blush?"

"I do." Gray confessed.

"May I know why?" Lucy pouted.

"Because I think girls are cute when they blush." Gray let it escape his mouth. "I mean... well not all the girls... not that you're not cute, you are the cutest... wait..." The ice mage felt his face going crimson, as if he could hate the color red even more. Lucy just giggled, her cheeks still suffering the effects of blushing.

"Let's just get what we need." Lucy changed the subject trying to help her usually so calm friend. They went through the market with a cart picking up the ingredients for Lucy's surprise meal. Gray made Lucy go through a lot of embarrassing moments, but the celestial spirit mage didn't really mind it, she found Gray being funny without being stupid, which is a rare thing to be found in boys at his age.

"Let's see if we got everything I need." said Lucy looking at Gray who was checking the cart for the ingredients.

"Alright." Gray replied.

"Cayenne pepper?" Asked Lucy.

"Check." Replied the ice mage.

"Black pepper?"

"Check." Gray made a face.

"White pepper?" Lucy looked at her friend to see his reaction. She may not look like, but she was worried about Gray liking her cooking or not.

"Check." Gray's eyes met Lucy's.

"Is something wrong Gray? You look disgusted." Asked a worried Lucy.

"Why so many kinds of peppers? Looks like you're gonna cook something for Natsu." Gray teased.

"That's so mean!" Lucy pouted crossing her arms over her chest. "Let's just continue with the checking." Lucy kept saying the names of the ingredients she needed, and Gray kept answering, but the ice mage seemed to be distracted. Lucy noticed that, and decided to check if he really was distracted.

"Chicken?" Lucy asked.

"Check."

"Strawberries?" Lucy looked at the ice mage.

"Check."

"Chantilly?" Lucy was almost glaring at her friend.

"Check."

"Condoms and maid outfit?" The blonde made a final attempt to make the ice maker get back to earth.

"Che... Lucy?" Gray winked twice. The ice alchemist was dumbstruck. Lucy just laughed, she laughed so hard she had to wipe some tears in her eyes.

"That's what you get for not paying attention." The blonde teased. Lucy mentioned the rest of the ingredients making sure Gray was paying attention this time.

"Do we have everything we need?" Gray asked annoyed.

"Yes we do Gray." Lucy kissed her friend's cheek, and smiled. They went back to Gray's house talking about the latest events concerning Juvia and all the potion subject. As soon as they were home, Lucy hurried to the bathroom leaving Gray behind to put away all the stuff they bought.

Lucy changed and left the bathroom, so Gray could also take his shower. Gray went inside his bathroom and had to deal with the steam on the mirror, something he'd never seen in his bathroom before. Cold showers were never a problem for the ice maker. Gray left wrapped in a towel, and rushed to his room as soon as he realized that, but to his horror, it was exactly where Lucy was. The blonde stood there speechless looking at Gray for a while before throwing anything in her reach at the boy, who managed to leave the room barely dodging the incoming objects.

"You perv. Stay away from my room!" Lucy shouted from the other side of the door.

"I'm sorry, but can I at least pick my clothes. I know it's a little awkward for _my _clothes to be in _your_ room, but they happen to be there... so would you be so kind and let me get them?" As soon as the ice mage finished, the door was open, but when he was about to say thank you, a bunch of clothes came flying, and his face was their final destination. After a while, Lucy finally left Gray's room, just to realize the ice maker was wearing only shorts.

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm pretty sure I gave you a t-shirt." Lucy pointed at Gray's bare chest.

"If by gave you mean threw, then yes, you did, but I don't know where I left it." Gray laid lazily on his couch.

"I'm gonna cook dinner. You make sure you're dressed when I'm done." Lucy went to the kitchen, and started separating the ingredients. "Gray can you give me a hand over here?"

"If I stop to help you, I won't find my shirt." Gray stated. Lucy sighed.

"I found your shirt, it's over here at the kitchen." The ice mage went after his shirt, but found a bunch of potatoes instead."Start peeling." Lucy ordered. Gray made a mental note reminding him not to call her more naive than she looks ever again.

"What are you cooking anyway?" Asked the ice alchemist.

"Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie style." Lucy answered happily.

"I bet you had a harder time memorizing the name than actually preparing it." Gray said bluntly. Lucy glared at him intensely. The two of them prepared the meal, and Gray had to admit it looked tasty, but instead he teased the poor blonde once again. "Why didn't you tell me before that we were going to have chicken for dinner?" This time Lucy didn't seem to be angry, she got upset instead.

"I wanted to make a surprise." The blonde answered looking down.

"Don't be sad please I was just kidding..." Gray shook his hands in front of him.

"So tell me... does it taste good? Be honest!" The celestial spirit mage ordered regaining her composure. Gray pierced a slice of chicken with a fork, and took it to his mouth.

"So how is it?" Lucy leaned closer to watch his reaction, if he'd make the slightest face showing disgust, she'd surely see it. Gray chewed for a while before answering.

"It's delicious! I wanna ask you something." The blonde's head was light as a feather.

"Sure Gray. Ask me anything."

"Will you marry me?" Gray asked teasingly, which made Lucy almost choke with her juice.

"What did you say?" Lucy froze.

"I'm just kidding Lucy, I meant to ask that, so you could marry me, and cook for me everyday." The ice mage smiled. Lucy also smiled, but the blush on her face was still there. They finished their dinner, and went to sleep.

Before falling asleep Gray kept looking at the ceiling, letting his mind travel. Gray thought about Fairy Tail, and the party, then he thought about Juvia and the whole incident with the love potion, and finally, Lucy. The ice mage's brain seemed to get stuck with processing the same information, because all Gray could think about in the past ten minutes was Lucy, and how his life changed after she moved to his house. The blonde even kissed him, he didn't forget it, but it would be awkward to spend the rest of the week with her if he asked her out and she refused it, or if they would go out and do nothing. One thing was for sure, Gray started to look at Lucy in a different way.

In the middle of the night Gray sat on the couch fully awake. The ice maker stayed like that for a while, too much in his mind, he didn't want to sleep alone after he had Lucy by his side. Gray heard some steps, and turned to see Lucy also fully awake.

"Have you tried counting sheep yet?" Lucy came from the kitchen with two cups of hot chocolate drink in her hands.

"I always lose the count at forty five when I try." Gray smiled.

"Can I join you?" Lucy asked already positioning herself to take a seat.

"Sure."

"I don't know if you like warm drinks, but I did this for you." Lucy handed the drink to Gray. The ice mage took it with both hands. "It's cooler outside tonight, so I guess I warm drink won't kill the ice mage." Lucy smiled.

"Thanks for the drink Lucy. I think it's snowing." Gray looked from the window, and spotted some snow flakes falling gently. They finished their drinks before one of them would spill it over the other.

"You're welcome. I'm still feeling cold even with the hot drink." Lucy nuzzled against Gray's chest. Gray didn't seem to mind, as he embraced her. "When I first met you, I thought your skin would be cold as ice, but it's warm, it's so warm." Lucy's hands were pressed against Gray's chest.

"I'm not ice myself as you can see." Said Gray.

"I see you're still having trouble with falling asleep." Lucy pointed.

"Wanna count the sheep now?" Gray teased, but the answer he got made his smirk disappear.

"I can do better than that. I'm sure I'm gonna make you fall asleep." Lucy started stroking Gray's hair gently. The ice maker closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch, while Lucy covered their bodies with a blanket. Gray lifted Lucy's chin making eye contact, and almost instinctively pulled her to a kiss. Lucy didn't hesitate in kissing back. It was a slow kiss, full of affection, they played with each others tongues, but it wasn't in a desperate way, they weren't going for the sexual moves, they just sank in the moment enjoying it to the most, since they didn't know if they would ever do it again. Nothing was for sure, nothing was clear, but they didn't mind, they just wanted to keep as close as they were for now.

Lucy broke the kiss with her eyes half closed, and laid her face against Gray's neck. Gray could feel the blonde's breath caressing his neck.

"You know I meant to thank you for more than just the meal. I saw you putting yourself in danger today for my sake, even when you thought I was already dead. That's more than I could have ever wished for." Gray confessed. "But I don't want you to risk yourself like that again."

"As if I would actually listen to you. I know you'd have done the exact same thing for me." Lucy lightly kissed Gray's neck. "Can I ask you something Gray?"

"Sure." Gray replied.

"Don't change... please." Lucy asked with some concern in her voice.

"I promise I won't... if you promise me the same." Gray answered.

"You don't have to worry about that." Lucy smiled. "Now we should probably catch some sleep."

"You're right."

Only the sound of their breaths could be heard in Gray's living room after they laid together. Their thoughts about each other kept them awake, but their presence alone made them feel comfortable and peaceful. There were so much they wanted to share, so much they needed to say, but now was not the time. For now, just being together fulfilled their needs...

For now that is.

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><p><strong>I'm having such a great time writing this fic. I kind of envy their relationship T-T<strong>

**The story makes me feel really good, but I feel bad for Juvia, I even considered making a one shot for her.**

**Any spelling, or grammatical mistakes please contact me, so I can fix it. I'm still in a learning process, so I'm counting with your patience. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed it :)**


	3. Wednesday

**You guys make me so happy with all the support, thank you all, you're the best :)**

**Don't worry Cherry Blossomm, I'll teach you how to cook those x)**

**Special thanks to my bro Emil, and ShiningStellar for pointing out my mistakes, even tough Emil called me impolite in front of you all ¬¬ **

**I know you were just kidding, thank you for the help man :D**

**Here it goes.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Wednesday <strong>

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><p>Morning light always made Gray feel like closing his curtains, but it also made him realize it was time to wake up. Today something was wrong with the morning light, because it wasn't coming in from his window like it was supposed to, there was snow blocking the way. Gray carefully moved from his spot on the couch making sure Lucy laid comfortably. Looking at the blonde, the ice mage couldn't help but smile, he told her she could have his bed just to have her sleep with him on the couch. Does anyone understand a girl's brain? Maybe he was trying to understand the wrong part of her body. The ice mage got hungry and decided to get something to eat.<p>

Around one hour after Gray woke up, Lucy smelled something coming from the kitchen, she could obviously say it was food, but she couldn't actually put a finger on it. The blonde decided she's been curious for too much time, and went to the kitchen. As the celestial spirit mage approached the kitchen the smell got stronger, she could almost remember what smell it was. Could it be... pancakes? Lucy stepped inside the kitchen to find Gray sleeping on a chair with his upper body over the table beside a plate full of pancakes. Lucy stopped for a while looking at the sleeping figure, she didn't understand why he didn't eat the pancakes, or tried to wake her up.

"Gray... wake up." Lucy gently stroked the ice mage's hair trying to wake him up. "Gray. I didn't know you could be such a lazy person." Lucy shook him by the arm, which made the ice maker wake up in an instant.

"Next time I'll use the shaking earlier." Lucy smiled.

"I liked the stroking better." Gray confessed and then yawned.

"You were pretending to be asleep!" Lucy tried to sound indignant, but she couldn't avoid her smile.

"I did this for us, since you cooked dinner, I wanted to make something to repay you." Gray explained.

"But why did you sleep on the table?" Lucy sat at another chair, and looked at her sleepy friend.

"You slept so peacefully I didn't want to wake you up, so I just waited." Gray confessed.

"You waited for me until now? So cute! Next time be sure to wake me up, so I can help you with that." Lucy looked at the pancakes, then back at Gray, and for a moment she thought she was living a real fairy tale, with Gray being the prince charming towards her, the shirtless prince charming, the undressing prince charming... undressing? Lucy startled, and suddenly the fairy tale gave place to reality.

"Gray what the hell are you doing?" Lucy yelled. Gray who was still sleepy, jumped in surprise.

"What?" Replied the ice mage.

"Your clothes, put them back on now!" Lucy ordered trying not to blush. She should have expected things like that when she agreed to live with Gray.

"When did that happen?" Gray got dressed in less than five seconds, after he started living with Lucy, he improved his time putting his clothes back on, for obvious reasons. Lucy picked a plate, and started eating her pancake, Gray sighed and did the same. They ate in silence, and got ready to leave, but when they tried to open the door, a huge amount of snow started to go inside Gray's house.

"Oh come on, don't tell me we're stuck in here." Lucy hissed.

"I won't tell you." Gray teased. Lucy just glared at her friend with a not so friendly look. "You like to tease me so much don't you? You're dead Fullbuster." And they began with the chase.

Outside Gray's house, Erza and Natsu headed for the door.

"There's too much snow. I'll leave that to you." Erza pointed at the snow covering the front door. The Fairy Queen made her way around the house. As soon as Erza got out of Natsu's sight, she went running to the window, she has been curious about what the two mages have been doing at Gray's house, of course all kind of things went through her head, some of them even her haven't done, which wasn't expected since she's been living with Jellal for a while.

"I'm gonna break all your bones Gray Fullbuster." Lucy rushed in Gray's direction. Gray just ran to the living room jumping over his couch, and hiding behind it. Lucy tried to reach him from the right, but he moved to her left, she went back to the left just to be fooled again. Lucy stopped and reminded those cartoons where this situation would happen, and she always asked herself one thing.

Why don't they just jump over the obstacle? And that's what the celestial spirit mage did, more like threw herself over Gray, who just fell on the floor with Lucy over him. The blonde didn't waste any time, she started trying to reach for the ice maker's neck, she wouldn't hurt him... not so much. Lucy didn't realize the awkward position they fell in, nor did Gray. Lucy was sitting on Gray's lap with her legs parted to each side of his body.

Outside the house Erza wiped the snow from the window, and started peeking at the two mages from there, what the Titania saw and heard next made her eyes go wide.

"Lucy! If you keep that up, I'm gonna have to appeal." Gray held both her arms.

"Go ahead and try!" Lucy challenged.

"I'm telling you, don't beg me to stop after I've started it." Erza's eyes went wider, the Titania was beginning to worry about her blonde friend.

"I'm not afraid of whatever you have stored for me." Lucy moved back and forth above Gray while she tried to take a hold of the Gray's neck, making Erza wonder what the ice mage possibly had stored for Lucy. Erza's close breathing on the window made it blurry, and now she couldn't see the two mages so well.

Gray started tickling Lucy, who began to laugh.

"Gray stop that, it tickles!" Lucy said between her laughter. Erza's face went deep red. The Fairy Queen suddenly remembered about what she told Natsu to do a while ago. Erza rushed back to the front door trying to prevent a tragedy.

"Stay still! I'm not done yet." Lucy's movements faded when she saw the door opened, and two mages emerging behind it, Natsu, Erza and Happy, guess that makes three mages... somehow. Erza's face went crimson, and her eyes wide once again. Natsu stood there clueless. Happy of course, said his totally overused phrase.

"She liiiiiikes him." Happy held his cheeks with his paws. As if the situation wasn't embarrassing enough, Gray managed to take off his shirt while Lucy was trying to kill him.

"We just came to i-invite you t-two for a mission..." Erza barely managed to say the whole sentence.

"What are you doing with Lucy droopy-eyes, get your hands off of her." Natsu yelled.

"I'm doing nothing, she was the one to start that." Gray tried to explain, but in Erza's head it sounded even worse. The Titania would never think the blonde was the type to dominate in this kind of situation.

"I was the one to start it? Who are you trying to fool? You asked for it!" Lucy glared at the defenseless ice mage. After hearing Lucy's words, Erza blushed even harder.

By the end of Gray and Lucy's discussion, they explained what happened, and Erza was in the corner of Gray's living room curled like a snail's shell.

"Erza! What are you doing over there? Let's leave already." Said Natsu.

"Aye!" Answered a scared Erza moving out of her corner.

Once outside Lucy saw snow like she'd never seen before, there was so much all around, and there was still snowing.

"It's cold." Lucy pointed the obvious while shivering from head to toe.

"Why don't you call Horologium?" Suggested Erza.

"No need for that. I'll warm her with my fire! Just stay close to me Lucy." By the time the words stay close to me left Natsu's mouth, Gray was already covering the blonde with his black jacket that had white fur around the neck.

"Thanks Gray." Lucy said without blushing this time. Lucy was already used to Gray around her by the time, there was no use for blushing anymore. The celestial spirit mage slipped her arms through the jacket sleeves noticing they were longer than her arms.

"Lucy! You look like a little girl having Gray's jacket cover your hands like this." Erza regained her usual personality.

"Why don't you just hug me all the way to our mission? I bet Gray's jacket is cold since his body temperature is low." Natsu pointed out. Gray was about to start a mess all over again, but Lucy interrupted him.

"I'm fine with Gray's jacket... and his body isn't cold at all." Lucy pulled Gray by the arm, and started walking ahead of the remaining mages.

"She liiiiikes-" A snow ball hit Happy's face before he could finish his last sentence. Natsu had an annoyed look on his face, but then screamed 'snow ball fight' and prepared more snow balls.

"Natsu! That wasn't nice." Three other snow balls hit Happy's face almost at the same time, the last one making the cat drop to the floor. "Hey! Natsu doesn't have three arms." The exceed rubbed the snow away from his face, just to see Erza wiping snow from her hands.

"Erza?" Happy asked in disbelief.

"Happy?" Erza pretended not to know what happened. "Sorry Happy, I got carried away, please punch me, I deserve punishment."

"Enough I guess. Let's get going." Gray sounded annoyed.

Team Natsu was reunited and heading to the airport, which made Gray and Lucy exchange looks. **(I don't even know if Magnolia has an airport, let's just pretend it has. Train all the time is boring)**

"Where are we going exactly?" Lucy was the first to ask.

"To a snowy mountain at the north part of Holoska." Erza explained.

"Holoska? Never heard about it. Are we really going by plane?" Gray asked looking worried.

"Yes." Erza replied shortly.

"I heard this place is famous for its stormy weather. We better be careful out there." Lucy pointed out.

"It's about time someone tells us what we're gonna do there." Gray demanded. Erza handed him the report card with the details from the mission.

"We're going to retrieve a stolen artifact for an exceed?" Lucy looked at the report card over Gray's shoulder.

"Looks like it." Gray answered. "It says here that it contains some kind of magic sealed inside it.

"Sounds interesting." Lucy replied.

Team Natsu took their plane, and headed for Holoska Mountains. **(Yes, I took the name from a Sonic game)**

Inside the plane Natsu kept walking from side to side until Lucy took her seat, as soon as she did, the fire mage sat beside her. Gray who was also heading for the seat, took another direction, and just went past them making Lucy frown.

"Excuse me Natsu." Lucy called the fire mage.

"We're finally going on a mission together! Finally." The fire mage cheered with Happy on his lap.

"Natsu I need to pass." Lucy was at the window seat.

"I bet you just want to go sit with Gray." Happy let out crossing his arms and closing his eyes, and then continued. "Looks like Lucy doesn't like us anymore Natsu!"

"That's ridiculous. I'm not going anywhere, I just need to go to the bathroom." Lucy explained.

"Then we're waiting for you right here." Natsu said with a wide grin.

"Sure. I'll be... right back." Lucy left, but couldn't make her way to the bathroom. The blonde passed by Gray's seat which was still vacant, and for an instant she thought about staying there. Gray, who was looking outside through the window, saw Lucy's reflection on it, and turned back to face her. Lucy didn't expect for this reaction, she just stood there trying to find something to say.

"Is something wrong Lucy?" Asked Gray.

"Actually there is..." The blonde answered.

"Tell me. What is bothering you?" Gray asked once again. Lucy made up her mind, and was about to sit when Erza came back from the bathroom, and sat exactly beside Gray.

"I'm sorry Erza I didn't know this seat was taken." Lucy went back to Natsu and Happy leaving behind a confused Gray. In Lucy's mind, it was fine leaving Gray alone with Erza for a whole trip, but in her heart, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with the ice alchemist, plus Natsu's behavior towards her was starting to become different, she didn't really feel like traveling by the fire mage's side.

It was quiet inside the airplane, or rather saying, inside the ship, It looked nothing like an airplane, it had no wings, and it had turbines below it to maintain the height if necessary. Lucy slept on her seat, but the ship went through some turbulence, making the celestial mage's head drop to her left a little, and with that, her head started to fall on Natsu's shoulder, who was also sleeping due to Erza's solution to his motion sickness. Natsu woke up to see Lucy laying on his shoulder, he checked Happy to see if he was still sleeping. After making sure the cat was asleep, and trying his hardest to control his sickness, the fire mage held Lucy's face with his right hand, pulling the blonde's face closer to his, and leaned for a kiss. The dragon slayer's hand was trembling, while he tried to steal a kiss from one of his best friend, but he felt left aside when Lucy went to Gray's house, and he knew they were getting closer, so he also wanted to get closer, or maybe he realized some feelings for her that he wasn't aware of before.

Natsu's lips were about to claim Lucy's when the ship started going through some serious turbulence, making Lucy wake up in the process. The blonde noticed the proximity from their faces, and didn't hesitate in pushing him away with such force that the fire mage lost control over his sickness, going back into green face mode.

"The ship lost one of the main turbines. We're gonna fall." Erza explained to the two mages who had just woken up, behind her was Gray covering his right arm with spiky ice.

"Attention everyone, including the pilot! We're going to abandon the ship, but I need you all to cooperate." Erza explained in a loud tone.

"How the hell are we going to leave the ship without parachutes?" Asked a man who seemed to be out of control.

"Fortunately. We are mages from Fairy Tail, and that man is an ice mage. He's going to create an ice slide as soon as we jump from the ship." Erza explained once again. Gray didn't seem to be worried about the falling ship, the ice mage had no expression on his face, he went straightly to one of the sides of the ship, and punched it to create a hole. The air outside was cold, they were in the middle of a storm with strong winds, and snow blocking their vision.

"Now everyone give your hands to the nearest person to you. We're going to jump now!" Erza explained, and took Natsu's hand who took Lucy's. Gray watched from the hole he just made. He knew something was up with Natsu's strange behavior. The fire mage could have asked Happy to carry him instead of sliding all his way to the floor.

"What are you waiting Gray? We don't have much time." Erza yelled taking a hold of Gray's hand with her free one. The ship seemed to start falling faster, the people inside it got nervous with Gray's lack of attitude, until one of them pushed the ice mage out of the ship.

"Gray!" Lucy shouted from where she was. Although she realized Gray was their way out of the ship, Lucy couldn't stand seeing him being tossed from it.

Erza lost the grip on the ice maker's hand, and was about to jump after him, just to be pushed away with inexplicable force. "Out of the way!" Lucy let her body free fall from over fifty thousand feet from the floor. The force of the wind pushed Lucy's body violently as soon as she left the aircraft.

"What is she doing?" Erza tried to see what she could do in her conditions.

"We're going to try a forced landing." The pilot said holding the remaining mage's shoulder, with that, he went back to the ship's control panel.

"Where is the turbine you lost?" Natsu asked in a hurry.

"I'll take you there." Said the co pilot.

Outside the ship Lucy searched all over for Gray. The thought of losing her friend scared her more than her own death. Lucy's brain told her she should find Gray in order to survive, but her heart told her she had to be with him even if she had to die. When did she start worrying this much about the ice mage? Being ready to give her life away for someone was once a distant thought in Lucy's head, but after she met Fairy Tail, she understood the feeling very well, and here she was, ready to put theory to practice.

The celestial spirit mage finally managed to spot Gray's falling body. Lucy brought her arms and legs near her body, and faced down going straight to where the ice alchemist's direction. The wind pressed against the blonde's face with force, and she couldn't see much due to all the snow in her way. Lucy went close enough to notice Gray had passed out, and had his forehead bleeding. Lucy's heart did never beat so fast in her entire life. She managed to take Gray's hand, and pull him closer to her, she hugged him by the torso with their bodies falling upside down, and prayed that everything would be alright in the end.

"Gray... please don't die." Lucy whispered, the blonde had tears streaming from her face. She kissed the ice mage's lips for the last time, and closed her eyes.

"Not yet..." Between all the noise in the storm, Lucy could hear his voice on her ear. Gray spun with Lucy making their bodies fall like they were standing. "Hold on Lucy. I'll need both hands for this, hold onto me, and don't let go!" Gray had a serious look on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't let go no matter what." They continued to fall. At this rate time was everything, they didn't have much time until the collision. "Whatever you're going to do... make it fast!"

"Ice make... Grappling Hook." Gray created two four-pointed grappling hooks with ice chains connected to them, quickly launching them upwards.

"Gray! Where exactly are we supposed to hang on to?" Lucy asked in utter shock.

"Where exactly do you think I hit my forehead?" Gray replied before feeling the strong pull in both his arms. The grappling hooks met their destination making both mages stop abruptly. Gray left out a loud cry of pain. The ice mage had to put a lot of force in his arms, and on his magic, so the ice wouldn't break with the impact.

"What if the grappling hook hit a plane surface? Did you think about it? We would fall!" Lucy tightened her grip around Gray's neck. The ice mage had to hold both of them, and manage to breath with the squeezing arms of his friend on his neck.

"Hell if I know. It worked right?"

"What did you say? So you weren't sure we would survive? Are you crazy or what?" Lucy lightly hit Gray's head for a couple of times not noticing the floor a few inches away from their feet. Gray released the chains falling down to the land, and giving Lucy a heart attack in the process.

"Am I dead? I feel so cold... is heaven this cold?" Lucy seemed to become delirious. Gray stood up at her side, and offered her a hand. "You're fine Lucy." The ice maker pointed.

"I can't say the same about you... your forehead is still bleeding." Lucy said worried. "I'll be fine." Gray said after he was done cleaning the blood from his forehead, and freezing the bruise in his head, preventing the blood from coming out.

"We should look for the ship. It's probably very far from here." Lucy reasoned. "Fine. Let's get going." Gray agreed, and started walking besides the blonde.

From the distance they stood in, all they could see was the smoke coming from the ship. The storm wasn't getting any better, and to make things worse, Lucy could hear howling, and it was getting closer. Before they could notice, the two of them were surrounded by wolves.

"I'll take care of them." Gray stepped ahead preparing some ice magic. Lucy sighed, and held the ice mage by the shoulder. "I won't let you do everything on your own. I'm feeling like a burden here." Lucy took a key, and called forth her spirit. "Open the Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

As soon as Taurus showed up, he started to make his comments about Lucy's body being perfect not realizing an enraged Gray coming his way. The wolves were still surrounding them, but Gray decided to completely ignore them. "I won't stand here watching this cow flirting with my gi... with you Lucy." Gray punched Taurus away with such force, that the bull's body almost carried the wolves along with it. The wolves attacked without hesitation this time. Lucy dodged their incoming attacks and took out her whip. In a spinning motion, the blonde let her whip loose, hitting all the wolves at once. Gray watched dumbstruck as the celestial spirit mage dealt with the wolves without any problem. The wolves retreated once they knew who they were dealing with. **(Yes, with that I meant girls can be more scary than wolves)**

"Gray what did you do to poor Taurus?" Lucy watched as her spirit laid inconscious on the snow. "He is a cow! That's ridiculous. How come a cow find a girl's body atractive?" The ice mage released his anger.

"First! He is not a cow, he's a bull! Second, he is one of my spirits, and I love all of my spirits, so don't just go punching them like they're Natsu whatever you're used to punch." Lucy finished.

"Fine. I won't hit the cow, as long as he doesn't flirt with you, that's disgusting." Gray started walking ahead again. "Gray wait up. What's wrong with you?" Lucy followed the ice mage who was already shirtless.

"What's happening with you? I never saw you losing your cool like this Gray." Lucy held the ice maker's hand. "You seem to be more concerned about Taurus than actually getting out of this place."

"I don't like it..." Gray finally spoke. Lucy's movements faded. "What is it? What don't you like, please tell me." The blonde asked.

"We don't have time to talk about it right now Lucy. I promise I'll tell you everything once we're safe." The ice mage held the celestial spirit mage's hand, and started walking forward. Lucy kept gazing at Gray. She was worried about whatever was going through his mind.

They walked for a long time in the smoke's direction, but it seemed to be very far from them. Lucy's finger tips where beginning to get numb, she felt dizzy and her vision was blurry. Gray walked ahead, and if not for the fact that he held the blonde's hand in a tight grip, he wouldn't be able to realize when she dropped to her knees, and eventually to the floor. "Lucy?" Lucy's vision started to get darker and darker, until it she was completely unconscious.

The cold air was still there, but Lucy's body felt warm. She looked up to see rocks protecting her from the cold. The blonde heard the sound of cracking wood pieces coming from her left, she checked to find Gray feeding a bonfire. "What happened?" Lucy said while trying to stand up. "Don't move. You passed out out there, and I brought you to this cave." Gray explained.

"We need to keep going, or we won't reach the ship." Lucy forced herself to stand up. "I told you to stay still." Gray held the blonde's body seconds before she lost the balance collapsing in his arms.

"I'm sorry Gray... You were right to do all the fighting in the first place. I'm useless... I-I am just a burden for everyone... can't even stand alone." Lucy sat beside the bonfire gazing intensely at Gray's eyes. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and brought them closer to her body.

"What are you talking about Lucy? I don't understand." Gray sat beside his blonde friend, before throwing the last branch at the bonfire. "Of course you understand. I know the rest of the team thinks I'm weak. You guys just don't confess it." Lucy wiped a single tear from her face.

"Is that how you feel about yourself? I don't know what would have happened to me if you weren't in this mission. I'd probably be dead." Gray pushed the branches that weren't on the bonfire's reach to the top of it. "What do you mean?" Lucy asked confused while turning to look at the bonfire.

"You know... you knew you wouldn't survive, and you still jumped after me. If you weren't there to recover my senses. I'd become food for the wolves." Gray smiled not really looking at Lucy. "Even if you say that, I'm still the weakest member of our team." Lucy frowned.

"That might be true, but you know what being a team is all about?" The ice mage turned to look at his friend. "I... used to." Lucy replied. "Let me tell you what I think about it." Gray paused, and Lucy went closer to the ice maker. "For me... a team is like the parts of a body. Natsu and I are usually the arms, getting ourselves into trouble, and fighting our way into solution on whatever comes our way." Lucy smiled on the ice mage's last words, she didn't think he knew how reckless they could be. "Erza is the head, she is the most focused from us, and probably the one who suffers the most, for being responsible when taking the decisions, for being the one to be blamed for the consequences, being them good or bad." By this time, Gray had Lucy's full attention.

"Do you know what part you are Lucy?" Gray asked preparing some ice magic in his hands. "I must be the mouth, for talking more than actually doing something." Lucy looked down. "Wrong... You are the heart." Gray finally said handing an ice heart to Lucy. The blonde took the heart in her hand, but didn't feel any better. "Why am I the heart?" She asked.

"From all of us, you're the one who cares the most about everyone else. You even told me you love all your spirits when I can only care about Loke. You're the one who keeps us together and strong. When you left to your father's house we all went after you, because we need you. You're part of this team, and in a team there is no more important, or less important, in a team, we're all important in our own way." Gray stopped for a while noticing Lucy was beginning to cry.

"Why are you crying? If our team's heart is sad, we'll all sink in sadness. You have to be strong, and keep on going, even when you fall, you'll have me and Natsu to catch you, and if you're lost, you'll have Erza to guide and look after you." Lucy's face was wet from tears. "I'm not crying from sadness... not anymore. I just don't know what I did to deserve friends like you. You're amazing, how come I didn't notice that until now?" Lucy wondered.

"You tell me I'm amazing, but you were the one jumping from that ship without a parachute to catch me when I was falling straight to death. I don't know how to describe it if not as amazing." Lucy laughed lightly, she moved to sit on the ice mage's thigh while resting her right hand on his cheek.

"I don't know how important you think you are to the rest of the team, but outside the team, you've become the most important to me." Lucy whispered like the place was crowded. "Lucy I..." Gray's words were suppressed by Lucy's thin finger. "Shhh." The blonde slowly pulled the ice mage for a deep kiss. Lucy's right hand was on Gray's waist, while the other hand had its fingers intertwined with Gray's. Lucy was the one to break the kiss.

"Thank you Gray." Lucy let out in a very low tone.

"I'm the one who should be thankful. You saved me." Gray replied. The ice mage felt nice with Lucy in his arms, he forgot about everything that happened just a while ago. Lucy had something that made him come back for more everyday, but above all, she was a friend who truly cared about him, and to him, that was enough already. The fact that she is pretty damn cute would always be a big plus though.

"I'm worried about the others." Lucy took some distance to look into Gray's eyes. "You're right, we should get going." Gray agreed, and both of them started to walk towards the fallen ship once again.

The storm was gone, and the two mages walked for around one hour, Lucy didn't call Horologium to protect her from the cold, not even a single time. The blonde was feeling motivated, and somehow felt like she could walk a thousand miles without stopping. Gray spotted the ship not so far from them, but there was still one little problem.

"Phew... It's a long way down." Gray looked at the ship down hill from where they were.

"We should be careful here. The slightest vibration could cause an avalanche, and cover the whole ship with snow." Lucy had barely finished her explaination when from the ship Natsu spotted the two standing at the top of the hill.

"Hey! Gray! Lucy! Get over here you two. We managed to fix the ship! I'm all fired up now." Natsu spit fire all around himself in his celebration. Natsu's screaming didn't cause an avalanche, but his fire breath melt the snow on the base of the hill causing the snow from the top to fall. Lucy and Gray started to feel the snow below their feet tremble.

"That's not good." Lucy's eyes snapped wide open. "Tell me about it." Gray scanned his surroundings.

"It's a good opportunity for that slide you've been planning before!" Erza shouted from the bottom of the hill.

"That's it. Thanks Erza. Ice make... Slide!" A slide made of ice appeared in front of the two. Lucy took Gray's hand, and jumped on the ice sliding her way down to the ship, behind them, the snow came crashing everything in its way.

"Wow that was intense. Let's do it again someday." Lucy surprisingly smiled at the ice mage. "If we survive. I promise we will." Gray replied pulling the blonde inside the ship in a hurry.

"Come on. Put this thing to fly now!" Erza ordered. The pilot almost let out an 'Aye Sir' before going to his cabin.

"We don't have enough time. The snow is gonna get here in a second." Lucy pointed at the avalanche coming at full speed.

"No way! We're getting out of here no matter what." Gray stepped out of the ship causing everyone to panic. "Ice make... Rampart!" A huge wall appeared before the avalanche stopping it for a while. "It won't hold the snow for too long, we need to get out of here fast!" Erza explained. Gray came back to the ship.

"Don't worry about it. I got our way out of here in my right hand." Lucy said with a confident look. "Open the gate of the maiden, Virgo!" Lucy called another spirit, but this time it would hopefully be the right one.

"Are you going to punish me hime-sama?" Virgo looked expressionless at the blonde mage.

"Not now Virgo! I want you to dig the largest hole you can manage before that massive ice wall over there." Lucy pointed at the wall.

"Yes hime-sama. It'll be done in a moment." Virgo was digging as fast as she could, she managed to create a huge hole before the wall that was already starting to crack.

"Well done Virgo! Now back to the celestial realm." Lucy ordered. The snow broke through the wall and started to fall on the hole with amazing speed.

"We're ready to go!" The pilot informed. "Then do it." Lucy shouted. The ship started to float, but the pilot had some trouble balancing the weight of the ship, since one of the turbines was damaged.

"Now Natsu!" Erza commanded, and the fire mage was by the side of the damaged turbine in a second. "Leave it to me!" Natsu started using his dragon slayers flames as an extra turbine aiming it to the floor, causing the ship to restore its balance.

The ship left seconds before the avalanche arrived. The pilot was all sweaty, but cheered on everyone's performance to save the passengers, and themselves. The people on the ship congratulated team Natsu for the great job, when they weren't even paid for that.

"We're safe." Lucy said while sitting besides Gray on Erza's original place.

"How did you guys managed to fix the hole I made there?" Gray asked curious.

"We used Natsu's fire to weld an old piece of metal we found from another fallen aircraft." Explained Erza.

"That's nice." Gray replied. "What about the mission?"

"We already retrieved the artifact for the exceed. We're heading back to Magnolia to receive our reward. Everyone agreed that it would be better for us to go back to Magnolia now, this place is too dangerous." Erza finished.

The exhausted mages got back to Magnolia in order to receive their reward. While they were with the exceed who request their help, Lucy asked the exceed to take a look at the artifact that caused them so much trouble. The blonde took the cat like statue in her hands and examined it carefully. There was something written on the base. Lucy read the words, and felt something flowing through her body before she handed the statue back to the exceed.

"Are you alright Lucy?" Erza asked the blonde who seemed to be a little dizzy.

"I'm ok." Lucy regained composure. After that, everyone took their own ways, since it was pretty late already. Lucy and Gray arrived at Gray's house, and Gray didn't even bother getting his towel, he knew the first to use the shower would be Lucy. After she was done, the ice mage took his shower before getting back for dinner. This time they couldn't avoid eating frozen food, since they didn't buy anything to prepare. Exhausted and hungry, Lucy came up with the following suggestion.

"Let's eat popcorn. It's ready to eat in three minutes, and very easy to prepare." Lucy looked at her friend who had already two different flavors in his hands.

"Original or cheese?" Gray asked smiling at his blonde friend. Lucy just laughed at the ice maker's sudden reaction, she thought he'd complain about having to eat popcorn for dinner. "But if we're having popcorn for dinner, we might as well watch a movie. What do you say?" Gray suggested.

"That's actually a good idea Fullbuster." Lucy said teasingly. They turned on the TV and left it on the first movie they found.

"Gray, the popcorn is ready. Can you get it for us?" Of course they were too lazy to prepare it on a pan, so they just used the microwave. "Give me a sec. I'll be there soon." Gray picked the popcorn from the microwave causing his hands to heat with the hot air coming from inside it. "That's why I hate the heat."

"Come on Gray. Will you leave me waiting?" Lucy asked suggestively.

"Looking for me?" Gray popped from the other side of the couch where Lucy was sitting, the same couch they've been sleeping for two nights now. It didn't look like tonight would be different. Actually, they would find it weird if tonight was different. "Found you." Lucy said in a playful way before leaning on the ice mage's shoulder.

"So what are we watching?" Gray asked putting the popcorn between them.

"I don't know. Something about zombies." Lucy replied.

"That sucks, I hate zombies." Gray complained. Lucy looked at him full of teasing intents. "Yeah, I know you like vampires better right?" The blonde went to the other side of the couch trying to stay away from Gray.

"And you tell Natsu and Erza that I am the one who asks for what happened today earlier." Gray let out bluntly. "Did I hit a nerve?" Asked the celestial spirit mage.

"No way. You were the one to tell me I can keep my cool right?" Gray smirked, taking some of Lucy's popcorn, and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Now that you mention it. You told me you'd say what was bothering you early today. Something about you not liking something or someone." Lucy remembered, causing the ice mage to get shivers, yes, he actually got shivers on his body.

"That's nothing really." Gray lied, but Lucy isn't that innocent. "I bet you're lying." Lucy picked one of the popcorn from Gray's hand and pushed it against his closed lips. "Come on Gray. Say Aahh." Lucy smiled sweetly at her friend who refused to do as he was told. "Too bad for you, this one was special." Lucy threw the single popcorn inside her mouth. Gray looked at her mouth with lustful eyes. "I think I changed my mind. I want the special popcorn." The ice mage laid over Lucy's body claiming her lips. Lucy didn't expect such a reaction, but found herself laughing between Gray's lips.

This time the kiss was a little more demanding. One of Gray's thighs were between Lucy's, the blonde's hands moved freely on Gray's back, they made sure they stopped before it could get out of control. Hormones exists for a reason, but so does self control.

By the time the two mages finished their make out session, the movie was already over. "Now Gray... will you tell me what bothered you?" Lucy asked, this time the blonde was serious.

"Fine... here it goes." Gray breathed in slowly. "I don't like the way Natsu is acting around you." Gray confessed.

"Now that you mention it, when I woke up on the ship today, I saw his face a little too close to mine, but I don't think he meant anything with that, he was probably just trying to take something from my face, knowing how Natsu is." Lucy giggled. "But why don't you like it Gray? I mean he always did that." Lucy asked.

"For the same reason you don't like Juvia's behavior around me." The ice mage replied.

"Smart answer." Lucy giggled once again. "I thought you were jealous." Lucy held Gray's face caressing it.

"Same goes for you." The smile on the blonde's face disappeared as soon as she heard Gray's words.

"Oh really? I just happen to know I can make you so much more jealous than you can make me." Lucy challenged, lightly squeezing Gray's cheeks between her fingers.

"And what's the point in doing that? Do you want to make me angry?" This time Gray looked very serious.

"I'm sorry Gray... I wasn't serious about it. I know how bad it is to feel jealous. To be honest... I was jealous when I saw Juvia with you yesterday." Lucy confessed.

"Let's make a deal then... no more letting Juvia and Natsu do whatever they want with us?" Gray offered, and then started to stroke Lucy's hair with his right hand.

"If you promise me you'll caress me like this everyday, I'll promise everything you want." Lucy smiled pulling Gray to lie down with her.

"I see no problem with that as well." The ice alchemist smiled back, while adjusting his body besides hers, so he wouldn't lie exactly over her.

"Gray turn off the TV. I know the movie was awesome and all, but I want to sleep." Lucy laughed softly also adjusting her body under Gray's.

Gray turned off the TV and rested his head on Lucy's chest, something she'd usually consider awkward, but the ice mage wasn't aiming for her chest, she could see clearly it was her heart he meant to reach, and she would gladly accept his in return.

Lucy was lost in thoughts once again, even considering herself a novel writer, Lucy had never tried to define love, such a confusing feeling, defining it would take decades. She knew one thing or two about falling in love, she'd seen it happening so many times, to friends, to people in the books and on movies. There was no doubt anymore, she honestly felt something different for Gray, something different than what she felt for Natsu. Even then, she didn't want to dive in this whirlwind of emotions called love, not yet, not before she was sure Gray felt the same way, until there, she'll try as much as she can to protect her heart.

After all she was the heart of her team, and such a responsibility isn't something she could just throw away that easily.

"Lucy... what are you doing still awake?" Gray kissed Lucy's lips softly. "I think it's about time one of us realize we're sleeping on the couch when there's a bed in your room." Lucy pointed out.

"I'm too lazy to go there right now, but I swear I'll sleep with you on it if it comes here." Gray's words were confusing with the sleepy intonation on them. Lucy just smiled crossing her left arm over the ice mage's torso.

Lucy enjoyed being with Gray, it's true that she did never have a boyfriend before, and maybe Gray haven't been in a relationship either, but if the ice mage was going to be her first, she wanted him to be the last as well.

Lucy wondered if she would have accepted living with Gray if she could go back in time.

"Good night Lucy." Gray's hand rested on the blonde's waist holding her in a tight embrace. "Good night Gray." She replied before yawning, and making herself comfortable on the couch.

Looking at the blonde's smile tonight, the answer becomes clear to see.

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><p><strong>This one took me so long.<strong>

**I can't believe it's actually done. I hope you like this chapter as much as the others. Their relationship is improving, and I hope it's not going too fast, or you'll all lose interest in my fic and abandon me T-T**

**I just know there are lots of mistakes in this chapter, but I'm not going back to get them. I'll do it tomorrow x)**

**Just kidding :) **

**See ya next time *waves***


	4. Thursday

**I'm trying to update as fast as possible, but I can't promise anything. I'll try not to leave you guys waiting.**

**Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for the nice reviews and support. Also ShiningStellar for those pointed mistakes.**

**Oh! Lolita-chi, your review made me feel so much better about Lucy and Gray's relationship. Thank you :)**

**I made you wait long enough I guess. **

**Let's continue.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Thursday<strong>

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><p>Thursday came with more snow, only this time, it fell in a slower pace. The two mages completely over slept, being already afternoon. The cold was making Lucy unable to move from under her blanket, besides, Gray's presence by her side was tempting her to spend the day exactly like this.<p>

"Gray... Will I have to wake you up everyday from now on?" Lucy didn't waste any time trying to wake the ice mage gently, instead, she just pushed him out from the couch.

"Oi Lucy. What was that for?" Gray sat rubbing his eyes. The blonde frowned before throwing the blanket on his face. "You're too lazy." She concluded, and then left to change in her casual clothes. Gray sat clueless with the blanket still covering his face. The ice maker stood up and went straight to his blonde friend.

"What's wrong with you today?" Gray chased the blonde to his room, only to find her sitting on his bed with a pout on her face. "I don't understand what I did for you to deserve that."

"Men can be really dense some times." She sighed. "Don't you think you're missing something? I can't spell it out for you, this is something you have to realize yourself." The blonde explained her pout never leaving her face.

"Happy birthday?" Gray let out still clueless about what to say. Lucy's face was bright with happiness. "I thought you'd never realize! Today is my birthday!" She clapped her hands in joy.

"Really?" Asked the ice mage still trying to understand his situation. "No!" Lucy answered going back to her pouting state, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then what?" The ice alchemist scratched the back of his head starting to look nervous. "Gray... I'll show you something on my novel to see if you get the slightest idea of what I'm talking about." Lucy took her manuscript and started searching for a certain part of her novel."Here! Read this." The blonde pointed her index finger at the selected line.

Gray took the manuscript from her hands breathing in and out very slowly. He knew he would regret not paying more attention to her novel. "The date went marvelously, nothing else mattered for them at this point, the next thing they saw was the sunset bathing their skin, and in a passionate kiss, they sealed their lo-" The manuscript was taken from his hands with such speed that Gray kept them in the reading position for a second or two. "You read more than enough already." Lucy blushed furiously while she held the manuscript closer to her chest.

Gray could be dense, but not to the point of missing what Lucy meant by showing this piece of her work. He kept his stare directed to the floor for a couple of seconds, which made Lucy go extremely anxious.

"Gray what are you doing?" Lucy held her hands together over her lap looking away from the ice mage. "I'm working on a way to invite you on a date since I haven't done that before." Gray confessed. Lucy's heart was racing, she couldn't believe in what she just heard. "You don't have to work yourself too hard. Just ask it like it is on your mind." The blonde laid her head on Gray's shoulder with a shy smile.

"Are you sure?" Gray asked making Lucy question what she'd just proposed. "Well, if it's not simply a 'will you go out on a date with me?' then I guess it'll be fine." She explained. Gray went deep in thoughts once again.

"What are you doing now?" Asked Lucy with her index finger touching her lower lip as she wondered what her thoughtful friend was up to. "Thinking about another way to ask you on a date." He answered running a hand through his hair. Lucy giggled.

"What's so difficult about it?" The blonde asked innocently. "You don't have to ask me like the guys from the novels. For me, knowing you want it as well is enough." Lucy took the ice maker's hand in hers.

"Well in that case... I'd love to invite you for a date if I knew how, but if you're done torturing me by making it so difficult... Will you go on a date with me?" Gray waited for his response with an uneasy atmosphere around him.

"You're impossible Gray." Lucy seemed to be annoyed, but then smiled sweetly kissing her friend on the cheek. "I'd love to." Lucy removed her hand from Gray's and stood up. "Just give me five minutes, I'll get changed." Gray left the room and went to his couch. He didn't know much about asking girls on dates, but about waiting for them to get ready was men's natural knowledge.

Lucy came out of Gray's room after a long while, she spotted the ice maker laying on his couch still shirtless, and on his cargo pants, not acknowledging her presence yet. Lucy cleared her throat trying to catch her friend's attention. Gray turned his head to see Lucy wearing a black A-line coat with black tights and black pumps. She wasn't using her usual side pony tail, instead, she let her hair fall freely to her sides. The ice maker sat on his couch, and paused to look at his friend who stood nervous looking at him.

"Is something wrong?" Lucy asked avoiding eye contact. Gray smiled making Lucy's cheeks go pink. "Nothing is wrong, it's just that I'm used to see you in brighter colors. Wearing only black makes you look older, but I like it." Gray finally explained, making Lucy doubt the choice of clothing she made.

"Hm... I dressed for you, so if you like it, I guess it's ok." Lucy said nervously. Gray felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the words dressed for you. The ice maker couldn't suppress the incoming blush taking control of his features. It was his first time going on a date, which meant more blushes were on the way.

"What about you? Just because you don't feel the cold like everyone else, it doesn't mean you can go shirtless on a date." Lucy pointed out looking at his bare chest. "Damn it, not again!" Gray stood up looking for his clothes. Gray didn't notice Lucy leaving his living room straight to the bedroom. He kept looking for his clothes when a certain blonde came back holding some clothes in her hands.

"Try these." Lucy handed the clothes to Gray and turned around. He spread the clothes on his couch and gave one last look at Lucy before starting to change in his new outfit. Lucy felt a small tug on her coat calling for her attention. She turned around to see Gray wearing a white pull over hooded coat jacket with a black t-shit under it, deep blue jeans and dark brown boots. "You look... good." Lucy went closer to Gray stopping in front of him. She reached for Gray's hood adjusting it around his neck. The two exchanged smiles and left for their sudden date. The blonde went back inside in a hurry, and came running towards the ice mage with a purse in her hands.

The air outside was cooler than the previous day. The wind blew softly against the their faces, and the sky was partially clouded, allowing only a few rays of sun to reach the snow down below.

"Where are we going?" Asked Lucy once outside Gray's house. "I have no idea." Gray answered honestly. He wasn't even going to invite Lucy for a date in the first place, how was he supposed to know where they were going?

"Do I have to do everything myself?" Lucy asked in a teasing tone. "Lucy... I'm sorry I'm just not experienced in dates, I told you this will be my first." Gray explained and Lucy sighed, but then went back smiling. "I hope you have something planned for the second." Lucy took Gray's hand in hers and started walking.

They walked together holding hands for a couple of minutes, before Lucy decided to go to a restaurant not so far from where they were, she'd read some articles about it on magazines, and since then started hoping to visit it.

It was all very new for Gray, being in a date wasn't in his plans when he agreed to live with Lucy for one whole week, but now, there was no turning back, he'd have to face it, and hopefully, enjoy his day with Lucy.

Arriving at the restaurant, they took their seats, and waited for waiter to make their orders. It was an Italian restaurant, venetian style, with some seats by the canal. It wasn't crowded since it was around five in the afternoon.

"May I take your order?" The waiter asked both mages. "Not yet, I want to sit somewhere else." Lucy stood up, and went to take a seat next to the canal, Gray followed close behind.

"Here... it's perfect." The blonde sat happily. The restaurant decoration had a romantic atmosphere, with low lights, a distant music echoing almost inaudible, but what attracted the blonde the most was the great view to the canal.

"Are you comfortable with your seats?" The waiter kindly asked. "We're fine." Gray answered.

"May I take your order now?" The waiter asked once again.

"I'll have the Bistecca alla fiorentina." Lucy asked cheerfuly. Gray looked at the names on the menu, but the letters seemed to shuffle themselves whenever he tried to read them, so many strange names, Gray was starting to feel dizzy. Lucy noticed the ice mage having trouble with his choice. "Can I help you with that Gray?" Lucy offered, but a men's pride is something hard to deal with. "No thanks. I'll be fine." Gray replied. The waiter waited not so patiently. Lucy decided it was time to interfere when she saw the ice maker turning the menu upside down, but before she could answer, Gray finally made up his mind. "I'll have the number two." Gray handed the menu to the waiter. "Nice choice." The waiter left with an annoyed expression.

"Why didn't you just ask my help?" The blonde asked from the other side of the table. "Because I didn't want him to think I can't do this myself." Gray confessed.

"Oh really? Did you notice number two was exactly what I ordered?" Lucy said in a teasing tone.

"Of course I did... I was just curious... about your tastes for food... that's it." Gray looked from side to side while trying to explain himself. "Alright! Let's just leave it like this I guess." Lucy suggested while giggling. After a couple of minutes, the waiter came with the dishes, and to Gray's horror, Lucy wasn't lying about his choice. The waiter carefully set the plates on the table. "Enjoy your meal." With that he left.

While eating their meal, Lucy suddenly startled. She looked very alarmed for some reason. Gray got worried about his companion's strange behavior and looked around trying to find the source of all her fidgeting.

"Gray don't look back. Don't look back!" The blonde kept looking to the place she told Gray to avoid. "Oh no... They saw us!" Lucy dropped her gaze back to her food. Gray lost control over his curiosity turning his head to look at the people Lucy avoided so much.

"Erza? And Jellal? Wow... that's cool." The ice mage seemed genuinely happy seeing both mages coming their way. "Over here!" Gray called the couple. "Join us." Lucy said still nervous. The blonde stood up to sit besides Gray. Erza sat beside Jellal at the other side of the table.

"Now that's some nice news. I didn't know you two were together." Jellal was the first to speak. "Why didn't you tell me anything?" He turned to look at Erza.

"Because I only knew as much as you." Erza explained. "So you two are really getting in a serious relationship I see." The Titania completed.

Gray confirmed, but Lucy denied at the same time, then Gray denied, but Lucy confirmed, once again at the same time.

"You two look good together." Jellal complimented both mages. "I always knew you had a thing for each other."

"How come you noticed and I didn't?" Erza looked curiously at her boyfriend. "I always thought Natsu would be the one." She admitted.

"For a strange reason almost the whole guild thinks the same." Lucy chuckled nervously. Jellal started a side conversation with Erza, noticing that, Gray took the opportunity to clear his doubts.

"I want to ask you something." The ice mage whispered on Lucy's ear while the couple in front of them was distracted. "Why didn't you want Erza and Jellal to see us here?" The blonde looked at her companion before mouthing the words 'what the hell' at him.

"I wanted to be alone with you." Lucy admitted. "It's our first date." She sighed. "But it's not over yet." Gray smiled before pasting a soft kiss on her lips earning the attention from the other mages in the process.

"Now I know you're not pretending." The words escaped Erza's mouth letting very clear her previous opinion about their relationship.

"Did you think we were faking?" Lucy sounded indignant. "We're not that superficial." She concluded. The blonde looked at the canal for a while before turning back at them. "Will you excuse us for a couple of minutes?" She stood up with a radiant smile.

"Lucy, where are you going?" Asked a puzzled Gray. "Don't worry, you're going too." Lucy held Gray by the arm leading their way to the canal. The celestial spirit mage took a camera from her purse. "Come here Gray, I want something to remind me of our date." The blonde adjusted the camera to take a picture in thirty seconds leaving it over one of the tables nearby. Erza and Jellal watched with a kind smiled on their faces while the two mages tried over and over to take a good picture. Lucy constantly complained about tiny details on her smile, or her hair, while the ice maker insisted it was perfect.

"I promise it will be the last one." Lucy took the camera once again putting it over the same table. The waiter saw the camera and volunteered to take the picture for them, favor that they gladly accepted. As the waiter was about to push the button and take what Lucy promised would be the last picture. Gray brought Lucy's body and lips to his. The blonde slowly crossed her arms around Gray's neck giving in to the kiss, and almost forgetting the people around while she did.

"Here you are." The waiter handed the camera before getting back to his work. "Thank you!" Lucy took the camera which was already displaying their picture. "It's perfect." Lucy scanned the picture this time enjoying everything in herself.

"Wait... What is this?" Gray pointed at the screen. Lucy took a closer look and saw the canal's water with an unusual shape. "Could it be?" The ice maker asked in disbelief. "I hope not." Lucy answered with concern.

"Juvia... We know you're there. Show yourself." Gray's voice was full of disappointment. Juvia's face emerged. The stalker was back. "Juvia won't give up!" The water mage said before vanishing underwater.

"I want to go somewhere else, somewhere dry!" Lucy took her friend by the hand and almost got past Erza and Jellal without saying bye. Gray apologized for leaving in such a rude manner, even tough the other mages didn't seem to mind. The ice mage payed their bill before they left the restaurant.

"I'm sorry Gray. I just wanted to be alone with you... I love Fairy Tail, but these interferences are starting to annoy me." Lucy confessed. "It's ok Lucy. Let's do something else." Gray started leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Lucy's frown was replaced by a curious look. "You'll see once we get there." The ice mage played with suspense.

"Not fair. You know I'm curious." Lucy stated. "It only makes things even better." Gray gave her a playful smile before continue on his way.

They kept walking for around ten minutes. Lucy couldn't get any more anxious, and Gray seemed to be getting lost.

"Where are we right now?" Lucy asked checking her surroundings. They were in the middle of an open forest with snow decorating the whole scenery. The only problem was the hill in front of them.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Lucy lifted her head realizing it was a long walk until the top.

"Come on. Giving up already, it'll be worth it." Gray took Lucy's hand and started their way up. Several minutes later, Lucy was exhausted, and didn't hesitate on climbing on Gray's back begging to be carried. Gray agreed taking Lucy in his back holding her by both thighs while she had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"We're almost there." Gray took the last two steps before arriving at the top. Lucy dropped from Gray's back going back to his side. The blonde stood speechless taking a closer look at the place she stood as the white gave place to a flower field full of different colors.

The sun shone over the place melting the snow and revealing a flower field. The flowers were still wet from the falling snow, which gave them a fresh look. Lucy started walking towards the flower field, and suddenly, she found herself lost in a sea of colors. The blonde ran through the flower field with a smile spread on her face.

"What are you waiting for Gray?" Lucy called her friend. "On my way!" Was Gray's reply. He ran past some flowers making his way to Lucy who stood there with open arms. As soon as the ice mage was within her reach, she threw herself at him and had her body loose, being held strongly by Gray's arms and swung around before both of them fell to the floor, Lucy falling on top of Gray, they laid like this for a while enjoying their company, and forgetting about anything else. They had everything they wanted right there, and even better they found everything they needed in each others arms.

"This place is beautiful!" Lucy finally spoke. "I want to stay like this forever..." She confessed.

"I knew you'd like it, but that's not all I wanted to show you." Gray gently stood up helping his friend to do the same. "What could be better than that?" Lucy stood up already excited. The ice maker made his way to the other side of the flower field. "Slow down..." Gray stopped when the floor could no longer be seen, before them was a gorge, and the view of the whole city from above.

Lucy stood there sight seeing for a moment, but that wasn't exactly what she wanted. The reason the celestial spirit mage insisted on a date weren't the fancy restaurants or, flower fields and certainly not on the view of Magnolia from above. The reason Lucy insisted so much on a date was behind her, holding her in an comforting embrace while kissing her cheek.

"Lucy..." Gray whispered his friends name. "Yeah?" The celestial spirit mage replied.

"I... I love you." Gray confessed relieved for the fact that Lucy couldn't see his face right now, while Lucy felt the same way about him not being able to see hers. Gray's head felt light, but he was still anxious about the answer.

"I love you too Gray... I've been loving you for a while now." Lucy blushed, but turned to look Gray straight in the eyes. Lucy tiptoed reaching for Gray's lips, her hands bringing his face closer and deepening the kiss, desiring more of him. Gray held the blonde by the waist, and didn't think twice before opening his mouth when her tongue tried to reach his. They broke the kiss, and a sudden silence fell upon them before Gray spoke again.

"Does that mean we're dating?" The ice mage asked. "I guess I'll let you get away without having to ask me, since you've been a good boy and brought me on a date." Lucy said teasingly before kissing Gray's lips once again.

They enjoyed their time up on the hill, but it was starting to get late, the sun already disappearing in the horizon giving place to the moon and the starry sky. Gray decided it was time to head home, and even with Lucy insisting they should stay to gaze at the stars, the ice maker didn't change his mind.

"Don't be stubborn. We'll have another chance. It's getting dark, and we need to get back from the same way we came." Remembering the long way they took to arrive there, Lucy stood up immediately.

The way back was tiring, but it was worth every step. It was around seven when they arrived back at the guild holding hands, but as soon as they saw the first member they let go of each other. Natsu was still at the guild along with Happy, Erza, Jellal.

"Look who just got back." Jellal was the first to notice them. The blue haired mage seemed to have the talent of perception.

Natsu turned around in time to catch the two in the very last second of contact between their hands. The dragon slayer became obviously irritated with how much their relationship improved in just a couple of days.

"Looks like we came back in time to catch some of you still here." Gray stated. Lucy left her purse over the bar counter, and stretched her arms.

"We have something to tell you guys." Lucy said happily. Erza and Jellal guessed what was about to come, both mages made faces.

"I think you'd better wait for tomorrow, when the whole guild is here." Suggested Erza, while dragging Lucy by the arm. When both of them were far from the others, Erza held Lucy by the shoulders.

"I know you and Gray are excited about it, and want to tell anyone about your love, but now is not the best time for that." Erza advised. "Why not?" Lucy's earlier smile faded, her face showed nothing but concern.

"I've noticed Natsu changing his expression every time someone mentions your name and Gray's in the same phrase." The Titania concluded.

"The team would suffer a lot if an inner war took place between Natsu and Gray, and this inner war would be over you, Lucy." Erza removed her hands from Lucy's shoulder, and waited for response.

"Natsu? In love with me?" Lucy asked still puzzled about Erza's last words. "Is Jellal telling the same thing to Gray?" Lucy asked as she gazed at Jellal and Gray also in a isolated area.

"Yes." Erza decided to answer shortly. "This is simply not fair. Why do we have to wait for everyone else to adapt with the idea? I don't think we're being selfish here. Why can't they just be happy for us?" Lucy spoke in an outburst of emotions.

"I know I don't have the right to ask you that Lucy, but please try to understand for the sake of our team." Erza's head dropped, while she breathed in and out very slowly. "Don't you care about Natsu's feelings as well?"

Meanwhile, Jellal's conversation with Gray seemed to go smoothly.

"I know you'll keep cool about it Gray, give it some time, and I promise Juvia will realize you how much you and Lucy care for each other." The ice mage paid close attention to the other mage's words.

"I'll try to, but I can't promise anything, we have just started going out... how am I supposed to suppress the urge to stay with her? Think about how you'd feel if you had to act like that around Erza." Gray replied, and Jellal couldn't help but agree with the ice maker.

"It'll be better once they get used to it, make sure you don't expose your relationship just yet." Jellal suggested.

Not so far from there was Natsu and Happy turning Lucy's purse upside down, making the camera drop from the blonde's purse.

"Hey Natsu! Let's look for embarrassing pics of Lucy!" Happy said excited. "Good idea happy!" Natsu cheered, but as soon as the fire mage started to go thorugh Lucy's pictures, his hands strengthened his grip around the camera. All Natsu could see were photos from Gray, the ice mage was everywhere on Lucy's camera. Natsu's teeth clenched with anger, but it was in the last photos that he snapped. Natsu dropped the camera, and went straight in Gray's direction.

Happy took a look on the camera to discover what caused such an outburst. As the exceed glanced over the screen, he saw Gray and Lucy kissing by the canal. Happy lost his speech for a while before flying to Erza who was still by Lucy's side.

"Erza look!" Happy shouted. The Titania glanced at the flying cat. "Isn't it Juvia right over here?" The exceed asked with a grin. Erza's eyes went wide open in surprise.

"Happy where is Natsu?" She asked in a hurry. "He's right there with Gray!" Happy informed. Erza yelled for Jellal and Gray's attention, but it was too late. The fire mage was by their side punching Gray with a fire fist, causing the him to collide with the guild wall.

"Stay away from him Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, before running towards the two mages.

"What have you done with Lucy?" Natsu walked over to where the ice mage was lying. "You think I'm gonna sit and watch while you steal her from me?" Natsu packed another punch and aimed it straight to Gray's face, who had a hand on the wall with an ice aura surrounding it. Natsu threw a punch engulfed in flames, but Gray dodged it removing his hand from the wall, and revealing an ice geyser going straight in Natsu's direction. The dragon slayer was tossed to the other side of the guild, landing violently against the other wall.

"I don't remember stealing anything from you. She was never yours to begin with!" Gray shot back.

Natsu stood up getting ready to launch another attack, but before he could take another step, someone else's voice echoed inside the guild.

"Enough!" Jellal moved in amazing speed with his body surrounded by light, stopping only at Natsu. The blue haired mage punched Natsu with enough force to send him flying, causing the wall to shatter in pieces with the strength put in the strike. The dust from the pile of wreckage vanished revealing Jellal still in his punching pose. The mage went back into his normal stance, and moved towards Natsu making everyone else in the guild fear for the dragon slayer's life.

Jellal stood before a trashed Natsu, and sighed.

"I really thought you were better than that... when you defeated me back there. I thought you were a mature person despite the stupid looking and acting. Now I see I was wrong." Jellal stopped. The other mages just kept staring.

"For many times, you talked so proudly about loving your friends from Fairy Tail. Now you can't accept the feelings between two of them, and what is your excuse? Pure selfishness."Jellal's face went deadly serious. He lifted Natsu by the collar with a dangerous look on his face.

"Grow up kid." Jellal dropped the fire mage, and went back to the remaining mages.

"Are you alright Gray?" The blue haired mage asked. "I'm fine... thanks for that." Gray replied wiping dust from his clothes.

Natsu ran away feeling ashamed, Happy following close behind, while the other mages took their ways back home.

Natsu is the type to snap and lose control from time to time when he is fighting his enemies, but he isn't someone to attack his friends like this, then again, nobody is free from being enraged and losing control. Natsu is human after all. His feelings affects him like it affects anyone else.

On their way back, Lucy seemed to be nervous about something, but no matter how much Gray insisted, the blonde would drop the subject, or just make up an excuse. Not being able to stand the pain in her heart anymore, Lucy held Gray's jacket calling for his attention. The ice mage turned around to look at the blonde who had a single tear falling down her cheek.

"I'm sorry Gray... We just can't keep this up." Lucy finally let out. She's been hesitating since they left the guild, but after seeing how much her love life affected her friends, she chose to suffer alone, and be unhappy in their place. Her left hand broke free from Gray's. Gray felt his heart stopping for a moment. He just couldn't believe those words, it was a bad joke, it had to be.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, and waited for a response that never came, but Lucy's silence told him everything he needed to know. The blonde was serious.

"I feared you'd say something like this." Gray's gaze met the floor. "I respect your choice, Lucy." The ice maker stopped for a while hoping to be having a bad dream.

They walked towards Gray's house in silence. Tonight Lucy didn't go straight to the bathroom, instead, she went to the ice mage's balcony and kept staring at the stars.

Gray went to his bathroom, and let the cold water run through his body. He's been quiet about the incident until now, and he cursed the day he let himself fall for Lucy, but such statements didn't last for long. In reality, he cursed his attitude towards Lucy once she told him they couldn't be more than friends, he didn't say anything, he just agreed to her, it looked like he didn't care. The ice maker kept his water cold, he didn't want to feel the hot water, the heat reminded him of Natsu, and that was the last thing he wanted, but somewhere in the middle of the several drops of water falling on his body, he felt something warm, one or two droplets sliding down his cheeks that didn't have his shower as source. The ice mage swallowed his pride, and let loose his tears allowing them to fall freely.

Gray left his bathroom, and for the first time in the week, he saw the bedroom door closed. Inside his heart he hoped they could work it out, and maybe it wouldn't take too long until Lucy changed her mind.

Walking closer to his bedroom door the ice mage heard the sound of the door locking and washing away any hope he would still nurture concerning his relationship with Lucy.

From the other side, Lucy heard steps fading with the distance. The blonde wanted to believe it was for the best. Her mind was full of memories from the wonderful day she had by the ice mage's side, the way he struggled to find the words to invite her, the photos on the restaurant, the flower field, she could still picture all those moments in her head.

"It's for the best." The blonde repeated as if trying to force the information inside her head. And maybe, just maybe it was for the best, the best for the team, and she dared to say for Fairy Tail, but not for her.

Gray laid on his couch, and he wondered why things seemed so cruel now that his heart was broken. Everywhere he looked the only thing he could think about was Lucy. His TV, the kitchen, the microwave and his blanket, it still held Lucy's scent on it.

Gray slept without his blanket that day.

Lucy slept hugging Gray's pillow.

Both of them slept crying that night.

* * *

><p><strong>Damn... this chapter made me feel sad, but don't worry, I'll be fine. You weren't worried? Oh you're so nice.<strong>

**About Natsu being OOC. How many here haven't snapped at someone saying things you wish you didn't? How many of you didn't do anything stupid for love? Natsu is the typical flawless character whose character is something to praise, but in my fic, he is just human, and he has flaws... like everybody else.**

**Lucy broke it as soon as it started because her friend was suffering, she's such a good friend isn't she? Don't hate her for that ok? x) **

**I'll see you all at the next chapter.**

**Bye for now :)**


	5. Friday

**I'm back!**

**Sorry for making you wait longer this time. This chapter will be a little different from the others, but I promise to keep focus on the genre... somehow.**

**I'd like to thank once again Emil for the correction of some mistakes in my last chapter. What would I do without you bro? xD**

**And off we go to the next chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Friday<strong>

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><p>"<em>Lucy... Lucy!"A familiar voice echoed in Lucy's mind.<em>

"_Where am I?" Lucy laid on a completely white room with no doors nor windows._

"_Loke? What are we doing here?"The spirit seemed to be worried and in a hurry._

"_I don't have time to explain anything now Lucy... I need your help." Loke's figure started to fade._

"_Loke! No, no!" _

* * *

><p>The white room disappeared as Lucy desperately woke up gasping for air. It took her some time to recover her breath. Once again the mage found herself in an unknown place.<p>

"My head hurts, what happened? Where am I?" Lucy found herself in a river with calming water flowing past her body. Around her, some small trees and strange looking animals.

"The celestial realm." Loke's voice came breaking Lucy's trance.

"Loke? That dream... What was it?" The blonde asked while rising to her feet. "I was at Gray's house when I went to sleep." Loke waited patiently, but kept the concerned look.

"We need your help. The celestial realm is in great danger." Loke finally explained. Lucy frowned at Leo's last statements.

"I'm through with this kind of joke Loke, this isn't funny." Lucy stood directing her glare at her companion.

"Unfortunately, this time it's not a joke..." Said the spirit while gazing sternly at the girl in front of him.

"But... If you really want help from Fairy Tail, why didn't you pick the strongest mages? I'm not as strong as them" Before Lucy could finish her sentence, a warping hole appeared in thin air, and from it came none other than Natsu.

"Wahhh!" The dragon slayer landed hardly on the floor. "I did as you asked, Leo." Virgo's voice could be heard from behind the hole.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed. "Looks like they brought you too." The blonde sounded relieved to see she wasn't the only in this situation.

"Aren't you mad at me for what happened yesterday?" Natsu asked in awe. "Everyone deserves second chances." Lucy replied in a kind tone. Natsu just smiled. "Plus Gray and I aren't together anymore... we had a fight, and I decided to break up." Lucy lied. Loke knew she was lying, but decided not to interfere. Natsu didn't seem to react at such information.

"Loke, aren't Gray and Erza coming?" The fire mage asked.

"They should be arriving here soon." Loke replied before they heard more screaming and splashing water besides them.

"Tough landing. Ouch!" Gray rubbed the back of his head. "Huh? What are you two doing here?" The ice mage questioned in surprise. Taurus moved away from the Gray's side. "I brought him." The spirit stated the obvious before moving to where the others were with a frown in his face.

"Same as you." Natsu bluntly answered Gray's question.

"Hey, you two! No hard feelings, ok?" Lucy asked with a worried look on her face. "Yeah, yeah.." said Gray in an annoyed tone while moving closer to the mages. "It's fine with me." Natsu said with his typical big grin.

"Good!" Lucy jumped in joy. "I thought you two would act differently towards each other. I'm glad to see I was wrong." Lucy confessed.

"Aren't we forgetting the main reason you're all here?" Said Loke. "You're right, but we should wait for Erza." Lucy remind the other mages. "And Happy, right?" Natsu gave emphasis to the his last word.

"I'm sorry Natsu, but Happy isn't coming." Loke explained earning him a glare from the fire mage. "Why not? Happy is my partner, he should be here!" Natsu let out in rage.

"He would be just a burden for us." Said Loke gazing coldly at the rest of them.

"I'm not trying to deceive you... moshi moshi!" A voice came from behind a tree. "Lucy, tell her I'm a friend moshi moshi!" Erza came forth holding Sagittarius below her arm before dropping him to the floor.

"Your spirit brought me here without my permission." Erza crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's because we need your help Erza-san." Loke explained with a wry smile."We're all here. Now what's going on?" Natsu said in a hurry.

Loke looked at all the mages around him, and then started explaining. "The celestial realm is about to lose its king, and there is nothing we can do about it." Loke spoke with a serious face.

"What do you mean, Loke? Spirits are immortal" Gray asked in confusion.

"Spirits can die on one condition. There are five spirits rebelling against the king, they plan to take control over the celestial realm, but in order to do it, they'll need to kill the king, which is possible if they can put their hands on the legendary weapons. The weapons were previously used by gods, so they're able to kill everything." Loke started to sound nervous.

"Legendary weapons? What are you talking about?" Lucy asked holding her hand in a fist near to her heart.

"They are four... Apollo's bow, Susanoo's sword, Kusanagi-no-tsurugi, Odin's spear, Gungnir and Zeus' shield, Aegis. With one of these, they will be able to actually kill any spirit." Loke finally finished his explanation. "We have no time to lose. Let's get moving." Said Loke leading the way as he started to walk ahead.

The new group started their way to a mission that seemed to be from a whole different level compared to the previous ones. Loke took the role of the leader, as he was the only one who actually knew exactly what was happening.

"The spirit took separated ways, they've gone after the weapons. Each of you will have to go after one of them." Loke filled them with the details from the mission.

"Won't you come with us?" Asked the Titania preparing for battle.

"Four of the spirits went searching for the weapons. I still need to figure where the last spirit is. He is likely to be the leader, since he is the only one who didn't show up until now." Loke's words made enough sense, so Erza just nodded and continued on her way.

"How will we get there?" Natsu asked already fearing for the answer. "Don't worry, it'll be quick." Loke smiled playfully. They kept walking until they reached a small station with a cabin and a few machines nearby.

"That's not the problem, I-" The fire mage didn't have enough time to conclude his speech, as Loke pushed him inside the cabin, which closed instantly.

"Let me out of here! I'm gonna explode this thing from inside out!" Natsu struggled to get free, but the the fire mage found himself surrounded by a type of material strong enough to hold even an enraged dragon slayer.

"This is the only way, the other means of transportation were disabled to prevent people from leaving the town. I could keep this one for us, so stop complaining and do as I say." Loke said sternly.

"Natsu, put your hand over the panel, and choose one from the places below, it'll drain some of your magic power, but it's just enough for the trip." Loke pointed to the panel. Natsu looked at the bottom part of a magical projection in front of him, and selected his destination. The chosen place had a warning sign informing any user about the wandering spirit.

"Like I would do anything to make this thing work! I want to get out." Natsu shouted making everyone sweat drop. "If you don't stop joking around, my world will be ruled by some fearsome monsters... I don't think you want this to happen right?" Loke gave one of his charming smiles. "One more thing! Don't forget that in order to defeat the spirits you'll need the weapon." Loke stated.

Natsu agreed to put his hand on the panel. As soon as he did, light started glowing through his hand, and then along the cabin. After a blinding flash, the fire mage could no longer be seen.

"Poor guy, he picked a nasty one." Loke covered his eyes. "Something told me he would go after this spirit in particular."

"Why can't we go together?" Erza asked the lion spirit. "Because there's room for only one in case you haven't noticed." Loke explained.

"What is going on?" Gray asked with wide eyes still trying to understand what happened. "Natsu went after one of the spirits. Unfortunately, I can't send all of you at once, since this mechanism takes some time to recharge it's own energy." Loke held his chin between his fingers as if trying to think about another way to send all of them.

"How do we return after we've done what we have to do?" Lucy asked in concern. "There are stations like this one everywhere, you just have to search for one, and do the same." The Leo spirit concluded.

"We'll have to wait then." Erza let out coldly. "I guess." Loke replied.

* * *

><p>Natsu arrived in a deep forest, and before him was a very spacious volcano. It had a large entrance and it didn't look like it was man-made, indicating something very large made its way inside the structure.<p>

"Alright. I'm pumped up! This spirit is gonna get it!" The fire mage went past the entrance, just in time to avoid the huge piece of magma rock that fell behind him blocking the only way out. Inside the volcano, the heat was unbearable, even the salamander was having a hard time inside it. A small path of rocks in the middle of the lava was the only way Natsu had.

"Come and get me fire spirit!" The dragon slayer shouted as he made his way through the lava, rock after rock, Natsu was slowly getting to the other side, where a gigantic figure awaited. Hot streamsof lava rose from below making the mage stop on his tracks, as it almost melted half of his body.

"I'm gonna eat all this flames and become invincible." Natsu began sucking the air around him trying to eat the flames just to figure out that lava and flames weren't the same thing. The lava wouldn't come his way due to its consistence.

"I don't need it to beat that puppy over there right Happy?" The salamander forgot for a moment his partner wasn't there. As Natsu advanced towards the owner of the volcano, he started to realize how small he looked besides the beast, but to back off now wasn't an option, as the creature felt the smell of the intruder, and stood up revealing its true form.

"A... d-dragon?" The dragon slayer had in front of him the chance to prove he deserved the title. The dragon had an extensive body making him a quadruped. The beast roared making Natsu's ears hurt, and then started making its way to fire mage. In a matter of seconds the the dragon slayer had to make all his way back to the entrance, as the huge figured rushed after him spreading lava everywhere along the way and making the few places Natsu could stand, tremble with the force in its steps.

"Looks like it's a dead end..." Natsu stopped before the fallen rock. "For you!" The salamander turned around and threw himself over the dragon just to have his whole body pinned between the floor and his enemy's right paw. The dragon leaned forward smelling the fire mage's scent, before opening its mouth ready to have a snack, when Natsu released his dragon's roar inside the beast's mouth. The dragon lost its balance moving his paw away from its victim, and almost falling on its back.

Recovering from the fire mage's attack, the dragon lifted its wings and started flapping them causing the lava to rise in a massive wave going straight towards the defenseless mage.

"Wow!" It was too late to try breaking the rocks behind him now. Natsu would have to think about a way to avoid the wave, or simply stop it. "Ahhhh! I won't die here!" Natsu set his whole body ablaze with flames surrounding him in a spiral motion. The salamander released all his magic power at once in an explosion sending back part of the incoming wave, and stopping its advance in the process.

Natsu could barely walk when he stepped out of the volcano. The explosion blasted away the rocks, and now the place was going down. Natsu's body fell almost motionless. "I guess this is the end." He chuckled weakly. The fire mage's happiness didn't last long as another roar could be heard. Looking back, Natsu spotted the dragon coming his way flying in full speed.

"I can't move. Damn... I have to do something." The beast advanced destroying everything in the way with the force of his wings. Natsu managed to sit, and saw his salvation not so far from there. A sword, it had to be the Kusanagi. The salamander stood up almost as with will power alone, because the physical and magical were at their limits.

Natsu stood up staggering towards the sword, as the dragon landed roughly sending him to the ground. The beast opened its mouth once again, but this time Natsu had no magic power to counter, the only option he had was to wait for his demise, but instead of trying to bite him, the dragon released fire from his mouth. A grin could be seen in the dragon slayer's face as he vanished int the ravaging flames. The fire quickly started to gather at a certain point, revealing the fire mage already standing and while he ate his favorite element.

"You're done for!" Natsu ran towards the sword taking it in hand. The dragon prepared another strike with his paw, as fire mage came in its direction with his body once again in blazes. The two blows collided, and to Natsu's surprise, the scales weren't that easy to pierce.

"You're going down, no matter what!" The salamander received a roar as an answer. Both of them kept forcing their attacks against each other, when the sword released a red light around the mage making his body glow red in the process, and with that, Natsu pierced through the dragon leaving a hole in the beast's body. The floor trembled for the last time, as Natsu emerged triumphantly.

The dragon slayer proved himself worthy of his title.

* * *

><p>Back at the station, the remaining mages waited patiently for the cabin to start working again.<p>

"It's about time this thing regenerated its power." Erza stated. A sudden glow appeared on the station making everyone cover their eyes. Once all of them recovered their vision, Natsu was standing right in front of them with a sword on his right hand.

"Here it is! The Kusanagi is ours!" Natsu cheered with a large grin before his body fell to the floor. "I guess I overdid it this time." The fire mage said in a cheerful, but exhausted tone.

"Natsu! You're alive!" Lucy held her friend in a warm embrace making Gray look away.

"Good job Natsu. We can always count on you." Erza praised in a firm tone.

Gray was still looking away, and didn't notice when the fire mage barely managed to stand up going in his direction. "Won't you congratulate me droopy-eyes?" Natsu offered a kind smile. Gray turned back to look at him. "You've done well... keeping yourself alive." The ice maker teased. "I expect you to do the same." Natsu replied with a confident look.

"By the way, where is Loke?" Asked the salamander.

"He taught us how to use this system and left after the fith spirit." Erza stepped ahead. "Speaking of which, we don't have time to lose, I'm going next." Erza bravely informed.

"Be careful out there Erza, Loke wouldn't ask for our help if it wasn't really necessary." Lucy said worried about her friend.

"Natsu, what kind of spirit did you have to fight?" Erza asked in a serious tone. The fire mage was silent for a while, making the air around heavy with the suspense.

"I fought a dragon." Natsu answered.

"What?" Everybody asked in unison.

"It was nothing like the mages and monsters we're used to fight. If I didn't to eat its flames, I'd be dead by now, I had to use all my magic power two times." The dragon slayer confessed.

"Get back in one piece." Gray encouraged.

"I'll do my best, for all of you." Erza went inside the cabin going through the same procedure, and disappearing with the light.

* * *

><p>Erza reappeared near a ruined temple, her surroundings completely devastated. "I won't hesitate in facing whatever comes my way." The Titania moved forward going walking along an extensive stone bridge to face her foe.<p>

It didn't take long for Erza to find her enemy. Once inside the temple a woman with heavy armor and a sword in hand came in her direction mounting the winged horse pegasus. Behind her was Odin's Gungnir laying gently over a well decorated table.

"I can't believe my eyes. It's a Valkyrie!" Erza had her eyes and mouth open in disbelief.

"My name is Brynhilde, and I shall decide your fate now." The woman with long brown hair and pale skin identified herself, dismounting her ride as she charged towards the Fairy Queen. Brynhilde threw several strikes at the Titania's body before she could equip her armor, some of them connecting to Erza's body, and severely injuring her in the process.

"I won't attack a defenseless warrior. Prepare yourself." Said Brynhilde. Erza equipped her strongest armor, armadura fairy.

"I won't fight back such a noble spirit, what made you rebel against your king?" Erza asked while dodging another set of strikes. They moved in circles around the temple.

"You know nothing about me, just fight like the warrior you are." Brynhilde kept punishing the Titania's body who didn't seem to fight back. With each blow another crack appeared on Erza's armor.

"I won't fight you, I don't need to fight you! And you don't want to fight me." Another blow connected to Erza's body tossing the Fairy Queen to the floor.

"I don't want to kill you. You're a strong spirit, but you lost your will, I can feel it." Erza stood up once again.

"You don't want to kill me you say. I don't think you understand your current situation." The Valkyrie retorted as she recovered her stance after her last attack. "I'll show you how great is the gap between our powers." Brynhilde charged once again.

"I wish you didn't have to realize how great this gap really is." Erza said with her eyes closed while she held her swords. "Very well then, show me the true power of the Valkyries." The Titania waited in her battle stance for the assaulting enemy.

Inside the temple, only battle cries and the sound from their clashing swords could be heard. Erza had the upper hand, and came to the point of only dodging the attacks.

"You leave me no choice Brynhilde." Erza disarmed the Brynhilde's in a swift move throwing the Valkyrie's sword away.

"Even if you pierce through my body, it won't be enough to kill me. I'm immortal." Brynhilde's voice echoed through the temple.

"I could have killed you in the moment I set my feet in this place, but that's not what I want." Erza equipped the Gungnir. Brynhilde looked back to the table were the spear once laid to find nothing.

"When did you...?" The Valkyrie was dumbstruck.

"I have what I came after. Don't waste your life over unstable things such as power." Erza had her back turned to the woman who knelt in shame inside the temple. "In the end... you were the one who decided my fate." The Valkyrie let out, her voice barely a whisper. The fairy queen went back to her original outfit, and left the temple without noticing the smile forming on Brynhilde's face.

* * *

><p>Lucy walked in circles with a extremely worried expression, Natsu rested his back on the cabin and Gray stood lost in thoughts beside the fire mage.<p>

"Erza is surely taking her time there..." Natsu was the first to speak.

"Do you think she is alright?" Lucy questioned.

"You shouldn't worry about Erza, I'm sure she is fine." Gray offered the blonde a sympathetic smile. "Next is one of us." The ice mage looked at Lucy with concern. "You're right." She dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Wahh! This thing is working again!" Natsu removed his back from the cabin as another flash of light appeared.

Erza stepped forward with intact clothes making it look like it was an easy battle, but her skin showed otherwise. Several bruises could be seen, and some blood streamed down Titania's skin.

"Erza!" All of them shouted in unison. "Are you ok?" Gray held Erza's body as she was about to collapse. "I'll be fine... thanks Gray." The fairy queen sat with the ice mage's help. "I fought a Valkyrie in case any of you is wondering." She concluded.

"That explains your current state." Lucy said as she examined all the cuts on the other mage's body. "These guys seem to be pretty strong." The blonde mused.

"Who is the next?" Natsu asked in a hurry. "We can't afford waiting, we have to beat these spirits fast." The salamander shouted. Lucy's hand were shaking frantically, the blonde had never been so scared. She feared not only for herself, but for her friends as well.

"I'll go." Said Lucy standing. "Lucy?" Gray called for the celestial spirit mage's attention before she could take another step.

"Is something wrong, Gray?" The girl stopped smith a frightened expression on her face. "I don't... want you to go. Let me go first." The ice mage confessed. Lucy gave a nervous chuckle. "We'll some trouble then, because I also don't want you to go." With that, Lucy went inside the transportation device without looking back. She put her hand over the panel and waited for the lights to take her away.

"Lucy! I..." Gray dashed towards Lucy, but seemed to hesitate when he got close enough. "You what?" She asked with a tender look on her face "I..." Gray's words didn't leave his mouth fast enough as Lucy's figure disappeared leaving a desperate ice mage with the rest of his sentence about to be revealed. "...Love you." He muttered to himself.

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><p>Lucy's scenery was a dark room with no doors or windows. The place was filled with mirrors the blonde's reflection was everywhere. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Lucy asked as she walked from one side to the other agitatedly.<p>

Lucy continued to walk nervously with all those mirrors confusing her. The celestial spirit mage stopped and carefully started examining her surroundings. As she focused her eyes on her reflection in one of the mirrors, the girl spotted a finger moving slowly and then stopping again. "I must be seeing things." She declared, but soon enough, the same finger began to move again, while her own finger was motionless. Lucy approached the image in the mirror scanning it carefully. She stared at the feet, before lifting her head to look at her chest, and finally her face. The blonde saw a devious grin on her face as an acute scream sounded through the whole room. Lucy covered her ears and closed her eyes in pain, but when she opened them once again, there was no longer any reflection in the mirror in front of her.

"What's going on with me? I was never this scared to confront an enemy before, I'm just not being myself, and it has to stop now! Natsu and Erza gave everything they had in their fight, I can't allow myself to fall behind them!" Lucy spoke out loud, determination burning in her eyes, as the blonde got new motivation. "Now! Open the gate of the Ram! Aries!"Lucy summoned.

"Aries! Use your wool bomb over the whole room, now! Lucy commanded, and Aries prepared her attack. "I'm sorry... but I have to obey my orders." The spirit stopped with a puzzled look. "I'm sorry Lucy-chan... but where exactly am I supposed to use the wool bomb, there's no one here." Aries said with her shy attitude.

"We'll see about that. Do it!" Lucy ordered once again. "Are you sure?" Asked Aries. "Yes!" Lucy yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The spirit repeated with a scared expression that seemed to be provoked by Lucy's sudden outburst. Aries created the wool bomb engulfing all the mirrors in its length.

"Good work Aries! Now back to the celestial... hmm, now do whatever you want." The blonde finally managed. The spirit vanished.

Lucy's eyes started moving from side to side looking for the other spirit. "There you are!" The celestial spirit mage spotted a moving figure between all the wool. Lucy took her whip in hand and launched her attack just to have it countered by another whip.

"What?" Lucy retrieved her whip as a blonde girl with caramel eyes dropped from the wool. "Smart move." The other girl teased before standing up and showing her true identity.

"I'm fighting myself?" Lucy squealed. "I can say the same thing." The other girl teared the remaining wool in the room and started walking towards Lucy. "Let's begin!" With this, the copy started swinging its whip around while walking towards the other blonde.

"I know what you are! You're a doppelganger." The mage realized. "You took so long to realize? You're an alive proof of the lacking intelligence from the blondes. "But you're blonde too!" Lucy retorted. "I'll fix that soon enough." The doppelganger's hair went chestnut brown. "Brunettes against blondes huh? We know who is going to win!" The brunette smiled wickedly. "Don't you mess with the blondes pride!" An angered Lucy replied.

Lucy kept concentrating on the continuous flow from the creature's whip. It was a repetitive movement, noticing that, the celestial spirit mage countered with her own whip entangling it with the copy's whip., and pulling it with all her force. The fake Lucy went flying and eventually crashed against one of the mirrors.

"Haha! That's what you get for messing up with a blonde! Who is the best now?" Lucy started a victory dance not realizing the brunette already standing and going at her with furious eyes.

Both of them exchanged blows with their whips, obviously making their clothes shorter. **(A/N:** **Or else this wouldn't be about anime)**

"You're so dead blondie!" The doppelganger seemed to lose its cool and was now throwing desperate attacks at Lucy. The creature had the upper hand once again, Lucy could barely move inside the room without being hit by the whip.

"That's enough! I didn't want to do this but..." The blonde took one of her keys. "You'll be sorry!" She threatened. "Open the gate of the lion! Loke!" Lucy finished her summoning.

"I found the location of the spirit's leader, so let's do it quickly." Loke said with his usual calm voice.

"Loke use the lion brilliance!" Lucy ordered consumed by anger due to the brunette's constant teasing about blondes.

"Oi, Lucy! I know what to do. Don't just order me around like I am some freaking pokemon." Loke frowned.

"What's happening with all my spirits today? Why can't they just do what I say?" Lucy sighed. "I won't just stand and watch you two arguing. Here I go!" The doppelganger charged forward in Lucy's direction.

"No you won't." Loke got into casting stance with bright lights surrounding his body. The lights shone bright on the dark room reflecting on the mirrors, and with this, making the creature go blind for a moment. Aside from making the doppelganger temporally unable to see, Loke's spell revealed a vault on the corner of the room, and all of the entrances it had.

"I'll take care of the weapon in the vault, and get back to the station." Loke looked at the blonde with concerned eyes. "You should do the same, Gray is worried sick." The spirit informed.

"Oh my... I see the blondie has a boyfriend. Perhaps I should stay with him in your place after I'm done with you." The brunette teased.

"What did you say?" A vein popped on Lucy's head as she tightly closed her eyes, and held her hand in a fist. "The doppelganger stepped back twice scared at the difference in girl's tone, being it dark and intimidating. "Who did you say you're gonna be with?" Lucy sprinted in the creature's direction without any weapon in hand. "Take this! Lucy kick!" The blonde hit the brunette's chin with a high kick sending her to the ground.

Loke watched from a safe distance as the enraged girl came in his direction, took Apollo's bow with excessive force and headed towards the nearest exit.

"Let's go back." Lucy said in an annoyed tone. Loke couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

><p>"She is taking too long, I better go after her." Gray spoke the same thing for the ninth time.<p>

"You better shut up, you've been saying the same thing over one thousand times!" Natsu finally lost his patience.

"What did you say squinty-eyes?" Gray turned to look at Natsu. "I said-"

"I'm back!" Lucy interrupted the dragon slayer's part of the dialog.

"Lucy! You're... ok." The word Gray meant to use instead of ok was 'sexy' as the blonde's clothes were all teared by the whips attacks. The ice mage didn't resist the urge to hug his friend.

"Calm down Gray. I'm fine." Lucy laughed full-heartedly. "It's your turn droopy-eyes." Natsu pointed to the cabin.

"Fine then." The ice maker made his way to the small transportation device.

"Wait Gray!" It was Lucy's turn to make an appeal. "What is it, Lucy?" Gray stopped on his tracks turning back to look at the blonde.

"Promise me you'll come back...?" Lucy moved closer to the ice alchemist while resting her forehead on the ice alchemist's chest. "I promise." Gray replied wrapping his arms around the girl. "Promise me you'll come back... to me." The blonde muttered under her breath. Gray kissed her head, and started to let go.

"Wish me good luck." Was Gray's last words before he also went after his challenge.

* * *

><p>"I suddenly feel at home." Gray's current location was a thick ice cap. To the ice mage's surprise, the Aegis shield was right in front of him. Something that looked like the tip of an ice berg could be seen near an area where the ice cap was shattering, and held the Aegis shield inside its matter.<p>

"This is too good to be true... do I have any choice?" Gray walked carefully over the breaking ice, stopping in front of the strange ice formation. "Here goes." The ice mage punched the ice being able to touch the weapon. "Just a little further!" Gray stretched his arm as much as he could trying to hold the legendary item. "Gotcha!" The ice maker pulled Aegis out of the ice and rose it like it was a prize.

"They won't believe how easy it was." Gray started looking for the closest station in order to get back when he felt the ice cap trembling.

"What now?" He looked around to see the small portion of ice breaking through the ice cap, and rising from the floor. Gray lifted his head following the little piece becoming a giant humanoid made of pure ice, better known as ice golem.

"This isn't happening!" Gray started walking backwards as the monster's hand made its way to smash the ice mage on the floor. Gray was able to roll sidewards at the last minute, but even then had his body tossed away with the impact from the hit. The golem continued to rise from the floor, now taking both of its legs out of it. The monster prepared another attack moving its arm in a devastating strike. The ice alchemist noticed it was too late to dodge from such attack, and did the first thing that came to his mind.

"Ice make! Shield!" The small shield that was supposed to appear in front of its caster was huge, and instead of one there were four shields, one to each side of the ice mage. Gray felt the force of the hit pushing him back, but the shield didn't break, not even a small crack could be spotted on the ice creation. After enduring such a blow, and wondering why there were four shields instead of just one, took notice of the glowing blue light coming out of the shield.

The golem kept advancing towards the small human being in front of him, with each step another fissure appeared on the ice cap. On the other hand, Gray had the power to kill a spirit in his right arm, but how is someone supposed to attack with a shield?

"No way out... this can't be the end." The ice maker kept running from the giant as it came stepping over everything in its way. "I have the shield, this must be able to attack somehow!" Gray continued to think about a way to counter attack as he approached an enormous wall made of ice. "That's it!" The ice mage hurried to the wall and waited for the golem to reach him.

"Now give me all you got in your next punch!" The mage shouted as if the monster could actually understand it. And surprisingly, it seemed to comprehend Gray's words at it threw another punch in the ice maker's direction, but this time the ice alchemist had a plan.

"This will have to work!" Gray dodged the incoming attack making it land on the wall behind him. The wall started to fall over the monster that didn't have enough time to escape. The ice cap crashed below the creature's feet making it fall on the water. "I got you now." The ice mage charged towards his enemy, in his hand the shield that would decide his fate.

"Eat this!" Gray threw the shield on the golem's head with all his force hoping it would destroy the fearsome creature, but to his horror, the giant stood once again, slowly moving towards him.

"No way! It can't be!" Gray expression changed to one of total despair. The boy lost the only chance he had to actually defeating the spirit with that last move.

"I'm sorry... Lucy. I won't be able to keep my promise." Gray clenched his hands into fists. "Bring it!" With an ice aura emanating from his whole body, Gray went straight to death colliding his fist with all his force against the creature's leg, which obviously dealt no damage on the giant standing in front of him.

The golem caught Gray in its hand and started squeezing him hardly between its fingers. The ice maker let out a cry from pain, as he trying to resist as much as he could. Gray felt his body becoming numb, and his vision started to be blurry. The boy was slowly losing his senses. "I'm sorry Lucy... I couldn't..." Death wasn't a distant reality anymore as the mage's vision became completely dark.

"No!" Gray's eyes were once again wide open and his arms struggled to free his body from the monster's grasp. After resisting a couple of minutes, the ice maker heard a cracking sound, and the grasp around his body beginning to get weaker. A fissure formed on the spirit's body starting from the head exactly at the place the shield hit. The ice started to break in several pieces, and one by one they feel to the floor. Gray feel along, but was able to pick the shield before it fell on the water.

"I... I'm alive." The boy laid on the remaining ice. "I'm alive!" He shouted before starting to laugh in joy. "I'm aliiiiiiiiiiiiiive!"

* * *

><p>"Damn it, he ran away! Once the spirit's leader took notice about his comrades demise, he simply ran away!" Loke informed the group at the station.<p>

"But without the four weapons he won't be able to hurt anyone." Erza stated walking closer to the lion spirit.

"There is still one weapon missing, we can't relax yet." Loke retorted.

"Gray is taking care of it." Natsu said cheerfully. "I know he'll make it... he has to." Lucy looked down with sad eyes.

"I can't... move." Gray dropped from the cabin with the shield on his back.

"Gray!" All of them shouted in unison.

"I'm back..." The ice mage let out playfully.

"You got us worried for a while." Erza was the first to speak. "I thought you were dead!" Natsu followed. "I told you they were tough." Loke smiled sympathetically. "If you dared not to come back, I'd go there and kill that spirit myself!" Lucy pouted while crossing her arms over her chest.

"By the way, what did you fight?" Natsu asked curiously. "I bet it wasn't even close to be as strong as the dragon!" He teased.

"I fought an ice golem, and it was pretty tough." The ice mage informed.

"Now we have to get you all back to your world. I'll keep an eye on this missing spirit, and if I find anything about it, I'll contact Lucy immediately." Loke said as he opened a portal back to earth.

"I hope to come here for a party next time." Natsu was the first to go past the portal. "Say sorry to Sagittarius for me." Erza followed Natsu inside the portal. "You owe me one for this Loke." Gray said while smiling before he also vanished from the celestial realm. "Well... I guess it's time to say goodbye." Lucy winked at Loke and was about to walk away when he held her by the wrist.

"You can't keep pretending you don't feel anything, it won't make you any good." Loke finally spoke something he'd been holding inside since the mages arrived at his world.

"I know... but I can't hurt my friends either." Lucy smiled kindly before disappearing from the celestial realm.

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><p>Gray and Lucy were back at the ice maker's house, and all their things were exactly like they left them. It was night by the time they got back. They took their showers and had dinner in utter chatting about their day, and how they defeated the spirits. They finished their dinner, and this time it was frozen food since it was the only thing that could resist so much time without getting rotten, after all time passed faster at the celestial realm, and they stayed there for a whole day, which meant several days have passed on earth.<p>

"We're back..." Gray rested his back on his couch. Lucy smiled as she saw her friend laying on the couch they spent so much time together.

"Can I join you for a while?" Lucy asked already sitting besides the ice mage. "Of course you do." Gray answered in a low and sleepy tone. The blonde sat with a comfortable distance from Gray and watched as he stared intensely at her.

"You know I won't bite, right?" The ice maker teased. "I'm not afraid of you biting me." Lucy giggled. "I'm just making sure none of us make anything stupid." She concluded.

"As I see it, staying away from the one I love is by far the most stupid thing I've ever done." Gray's eyes were closed as he finally found courage to talk about this subject again.

"It's not that simple." Lucy retorted.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have mentioned it." Gray apologized turning his back to Lucy and getting ready to sleep. "I'll see you tomorrow." He finished. Lucy covered him with his blanket. "I'm fine without the blanket." Gray discarded the blanket.

"Gray... you're not being fair with me." Lucy said as her tears started to fall. "I'm such a weak girl... why can't I keep these damned tears from falling!" The blonde cursed the small droplets.

Gray sat on his couch looking at his sobbing friend. "Come on, Lucy, don't cry. Come here." The ice mage brought Lucy in a warm embrace. "Do you think I want to stay away from you? Can't you see how much it hurts me? I love you... you idiot!" The blonde cried out loud. "I love... you." She repeated, but this time in a fading tone. "Don't act like you don't care, don't act like you're the only one suffering." Lucy held her friend's face with her hands.

Gray started leaning for a kiss. "Gray, don't!" Lucy exclaimed, but the ice mage kept leaning closer to her face. "We shouldn't..." This time her voice was lower. The boy kept leaning in a slow pace, he wanted to be sure he wasn't the only one desiring that kiss. "This is... wrong." Lucy started pulling him by the collar, and that was when he touched her lips with his.

The celestial spirit mage's tears kept flowing as she kissed Gray. Whereas she thought it was wrong to break the fire mage's heart, Lucy didn't think wanting to be with the one she loved would be asking too much. She's been worried about his safety during their whole mission, and when she saw him coming out of that cabin, she felt the other half of her heart starting to beat again.

"I' won't let you go..." Gray whispered. "When I was being squeezed by that ice golem..." Lucy watched as Gray started to release his feelings. "I felt my body starting to get numb, and my vision blurry. I thought I was going to die..." Gray admitted. "But none of this scared me more than the thought of not being able to keep the promise I made to you. That's why I regained my senses when my spirit was broken and my body not answering anymore." The boy muttered softly.

"You're making it really hard for me, you know that... don't you?" Lucy asked with her arms crossed around Gray's neck as she laid below the ice alchemist's body. "I'm sorry, but making it easier isn't my intention. I won't lose you." Gray replied with a smile on his face. Lucy smiled, and her tears seemed to cease.

"Gray...?" Lucy called. "Hmm?" Gray responded. "Promise me you won't ever give so little value to your life." The blonde let out. "Promise you won't give my life more value than you give yours." She asked caressing his face and placing a soft kiss over his lips.

"I promise I'll always be here. I can promise you this much." Gray said with his hands resting on the blonde's waist. "That's not enough." Lucy retorted. "Deal with it." The ice mage simply answered.

"Damn you, you're such a bad boy to me, why do I like it so much?." Lucy said innocently. "You're turning me into one." Gray responded playfully.

"I want you..." Lucy moved from below Gray's body hovering on top of him. She laid over the ice maker kissing his lips once again, but this time, the boy made sure their tongues met. They kissed desperately, like it was their last chance to do it. The broke apart eventually, and let their bodies cool down before going to sleep peacefully in each others arms.

Lucy didn't say she wanted to go back together... but she didn't say Gray couldn't keep trying.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for chapter six... it was supposed to be longer, but I had to cut it in half :S<strong>

**I'll use the idea I had for another fic, or maybe another chapter.**

**I hope you like it, and I had to change the genre thanks to this chapter ¬¬**

**It was romance/friendship before x)**

**Enough for now, I'll see you guys on the next chapter. Only two more to go!**


	6. Saturday

**I didn't plan anything for this chapter, so I honestly have no idea about what's going to happen here.**

**Let's hope it's good x)**

**Alright, once again I'd like to thank everyone for the support and reviews, I like receiving them, so I might as well thank you guys for them, right?**

**Oh! Just one more thing... one day at the celestial realm is equal three months on earth, so yeah, the fic's name doesn't make much sense if you think like this. For Natsu team, it was still a normal day though.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Saturday <strong>

* * *

><p>Gray woke up in the middle of the night with some noises on his living room. He saw Lucy walking slowly to window before climbing and jumping out of it. The blonde had a beautiful white aura coming out of her body.<p>

Before he could do anything, Gray felt his eyes too heavy to keep them open, and fell asleep once again. Three hours passed in a blink of an eye, and the sun was already waking up the lazy boy laying on his couch.

Gray opened his eyes to realize Lucy was nowhere to be found. In the ice mage's head, it made enough sense, since Lucy has been avoiding him, but what about that strange behavior he witnessed. Gray shook his head deciding it was nothing but a dream.

"Where could she go?" Gray sat on his couch and scratched the back of his head. After his morning routine, he left his house heading to the guild, Lucy would probably be there. Thoughts flooded the ice maker's mind about what might have happened with her.

Entering the guild, Gray quickly scanned the whole place. Juvia came running towards the boy who just walked past her. "Gray-sama?" The water mage muttered holding her hands together as her crush made his way to Mirajane.

"Mira... have you seen Lucy? She left in the middle of the night and haven't come back yet." Asked the concerned mage while taking a seat on a bench.

"I haven't seen team Natsu for three months, and that includes you and her." Mira answered reluctantly. "What were you guys doing all this time?"

"Nothing... Let me know if you see Lucy, ok?" Gray stood from his bench and moved to sit at a table. His head hurt with so much thinking, for the ice mage, something wasn't right about this. Mira just nodded with a puzzled look. Three months and nothing?

"Looks like someone finally decided to come to the guild." Levy's voice came from Gray's side. He just turned to look at the girl.

"Hey, Levy... How is it going?" Asked Gray in a very low tone, almost inaudible. "Doing fine, I see you can't say the same." Levy replied.

"I'll be fine." Gray had both hands running through his hair. "Come on Gray, don't lie to yourself." Levy put a comforting hand over Gray's shoulder. "Tell me, what's bothering you." She said with sympathetic smile.

"It's about Lucy. She just... went missing." The ice maker confessed. "Say what? She went missing?" Levy startled.

"She is probably cooling down somewhere. There's no need to be alarmed." Gray said covering the girl's mouth. From another table Juvia watched carefully as a new rival began to rise.

"We can't just stay here, let's go after her!" Levy commanded already standing. "I'll tell the others." Levy finished much to Gray's dismay, if the rest of the guild heard what she had to say, they'd get worried about Lucy, and probably blame him for the blonde's current situation.

"Everyone!" Levy shouted calling for attention. After having her presence acknowledged by her guild mates, Levy continued. "Lucy is missing, let's go after her." Natsu instantly glared at Gray, and started to walk his way.

"Where did she go droopy-eyes?" Asked an enraged fire mage.

"How should I know? She left when I was still asleep, I thought she was here." Gray retorted.

"You better figure out fast!" Natsu started the usual forehead clashing just to earn a deadly glare from Erza.

"You two! You should be looking for our friend, not wasting time with useless fighting!" Erza shouted making the whole guild go quiet. After one minute of pure silence, someone decided to talk.

"Don't you think we're overdoing it? Maybe she wanted to be alone for today." Cana pondered with her barrel between her legs.

"I don't think so. Lucy wouldn't just avoid the guild like this, something serious is going on." Erza replied. "Let's form teams and start looking for her."

"We don't have time for teams... I'm going first! Let's go Happy!" Exclaimed the dragon slayer before rushing outside.

"Aye sir!" Happy answered already flying besides his friend.

"Natsu, wait!" Mira tried to hold the salamander by the arm, but it was already too late.

"I'm going too!" Levy left in a hurry being followed by Jet and Droy. "Jet, you should hurry up ahead, you'll cover a larger area like this." Levy suggested. "But Levy, I want to-" Jet was cut off by Gajeel's sudden interference. "I'll go with the shortie, you do as she said." The dragon slayer said with a serious look.

"This isn't right." Jet dashed away with a frown.

Gray looked around to notice he was one of the few mages still standing in the guild not knowing what to do. He left the building in a hurry trying to figure where Lucy could be.

Everyone kept looking all over Magnolia. Mira, Wendy and Natsu searched from above having a better chance to find the blonde. Evergreen could fly too, but she didn't bother wasting her time to look for any missing mage, she agreed with Cana about Lucy taking her time to cool off a bit.

Jet kept running around the city. Juvia tried every place that had water nearby, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and even the docks.

Elfman smashed everything in his way as he marched through a dense forest trying to find the celestial spirit mage.

And finally there was Gray standing still, still thinking about where he'd look first. The ice mage had grown closer to Lucy, making it easier to realize where the girl could go if she was sad, or feeling anything else, so taking turns in every corner wasn't exactly what Gray considered the best plan.

It was then that realization hit the ice maker. "Found you!" Gray rushed straight ahead, he ran like he never did in his life. Some of the mages around the town could see the shirtless boy and for a moment joined him in his marathon, but none of them could keep up with the speed Gray kept in his pace.

"She has to be here!" Gray stood in front of the hill where he and Lucy went on their date. He began to go up with the same speed he had been running a while ago. Avoiding some trees, the ice alchemist made his way to the top with a wide smile in his face. Gray was confident that Lucy would be on the flower field.

"What? She is not here either..." The boy stopped to recover his breath disappointed at himself. He decided to take a look from the other side of the flower field, where he could see Magnolia from above. One step after the other, Gray carefully made his way through the flowers. From the middle of the field, he could see something bright on the edge of the gorge.

Gray quietly approached trying not to be noisy. As he made his way closer, his eyes could distinguish light from flesh and the ice maker suddenly stopped in his tracks.

_This can't be... I must be seeing things._

It was Lucy, that was obvious by now, but something was seriously wrong with the girls anatomy. The blonde had huge white wings coming out from her back and covering her body as if trying to protect her. Her body was surrounded by light giving her an angelical look.

"Lucy..." Gray called his friend in a very low tone. Lucy turned to face him immediately revealing a grim smile on her face.

"Gray? Are you Gray Fullbuster? We've been waiting for you." The blonde asked as she dashed towards the ice mage.

Lucy jumped high in the air spreading her wings wide open. "You're the one making her suffer... I won't forgive you. You die here!" Lucy dove in full speed heading towards Gray.

"What the hell are you doing Lucy?" Gray could barely speak as he dodge several kicks. Lucy alternated between low and high kicks, making the ice maker focus on defending his legs and head, when she launched a spinning kick straight to his chest. Gray fell to the floor landing a few meters away from the girl.

"Have you lost your mind? Don't you recognize me?" The boy desperately tried to stand up as Lucy landed roughly stomping on his chest. Gray let out a loud cry of pain. "Enough!" The ice mage kicked the blonde's back making her fall, he took this chance to stand again, and plan a counter attack, but no matter how hard he tried, he could still see his friend in front of him, even if she was totally twisted.

"We won't tolerate resistance." Lucy said as she prepared another attack, but the girl's body seemed to hesitate, she knelt holding her head with both hands. "I don't wanna do this... no!" After a few seconds, she stood up once again and ran after her target.

"Cut it out! What do you mean with we?" Gray walked backwards trying to avoid the girl's combos consisting of kicks and knee strikes. It didn't take long for the ice mage to be cornered, behind him, the view of Magnolia from above indicating he stood in the edge of the gorge.

"I won't let you make her suffer anymore!" Lucy kicked the ice alchemist with full force sending him off of the gorge straight to certain death. Gray felt like falling in slow motion, as the distance between him and the floor started decrease, the ice mage tried to understand what was happening.

"Lucy... you should have known better..." Gray calmly closed his eyes before shooting his icy grappling hooks and pulling his body back up with such force, that he was able to jump over Lucy in the process.

Gray landed behind the blonde and turned to face her. "You should know free falling won't kill me. Have you forgotten? Three days ago... when we fell from that plane!" Gray shouted angrily. "After all we've been through in just one week, you dare to attack me. You're not Lucy! Who are you?" The ice maker had dark features in his face, Gray had never been so serious.

"I'm a different type of vulcan. I can maintain the human form." The monster finally revealed. "The exceeds believed there was nothing but magic inside that relic your friends retrieved, but I was sealed inside it, waiting for someone to read those words so that I could take their body."

"Leave Lucy alone." Gray started walking closer to the girl's body. "I'm protecting her from you. I have access to all her thoughts and feelings while I'm inside her body, and guess what..." Lucy's mouth stopped moving. "She is divided between you and this Natsu." Gray's face changed, the ice maker lost his will to fight, no matter how dangerous being still in front of the enemy could be, he just couldn't find any strength to move.

"Looks like I spilled some private information here. What if I tell you she kissed him twice while she was living with you? She tried her hardest to avoid him. I guess you weren't man enough for her." Gray was losing his mind with all those accusations. The ice alchemist held his head with both hands shaking it frantically.

"You're lying... liar! Shut up already!" Lucy's body moved on its own once again throwing a hard kick on the ice mage's chin making Gray fall in the middle of the flower field.

_This can't be true... so all that happened between us, here in the flower field, were those moments all lies?_

The vulcan lifted Gray, severely punishing the boy's body. In the other hand, the ice maker didn't seem to react as he accepted all the strikes directed at him, the last one making him fall facing the floor.

"That's why she prefers Natsu. You're weak! Even if she stays with you, she won't stop seeing him." Lucy's face was vicious as a sinister laughter left her lips before kneeling once again and shaking her head from side to side. "Don't listen to me... I'm lying." Lucy let out in utter confusion.

Gray agonized in pain listening to all those provocations, without knowing the vulcan was making the boy's blood boil with anger. Gray barely managed to stand up before shooting a death glare towards his possessed friend.

"So, you want more? That's fine with me!" Lucy started throwing kicks once again making Gray fall back with the force and agility the girl was kicking. When it seemed the blonde had the upper hand, a frown formed on Gray's face. _I'm sorry Lucy, this will hurt a little._

Gray's arm started to let out an ice cold aura. The boy rolled on the floor dodging another kick, and appearing behind Lucy in the process. "Begone, monster!" Gray's palm went straight to Lucy's belly freezing the girl exactly where she stood.

Seeing Lucy like that was something the ice alchemist never wished for, but he didn't know what could happen if he released her from the cold prison she found herself into.

"I can't stand seeing you like this Lucy, but I can't let you go just yet." He confessed to no one as he was sure Lucy couldn't hear him.

"Why not?" The girl surprisingly replied, but it was not enough to make Gray release her. "I won't fall for that, vulcan, I know it's you." The boy madly retorted.

"What are you talking about Gray? Why did you do this to me? I'm cold." Lucy's lips were the only part of her body still moving.

Gray paused to think if he should believe those words or not. "How do I know if it's really you?" The ice mage asked scratching his chin.

"You just need to look at that fleeing vulcan over there." The blonde had to point with her eyes at the sneaky figure trying to escape. Gray broke the ice immediately, but unlike Lucy expected from him, the ice maker didn't chase the creature, instead, he caught her body before she could fall.

"Are you ok, Lucy?" Gray held the back of the celestial spirit mage's head with his right hand, and her waist with his left one. The blonde didn't have her wings anymore.

"My head was such a mess, that thing was implanting lies in memories, making me believe I did things I didn't." Lucy let out still a bit confused about what had happened with her.

"It's alright now." Gray held his friend in a loving embrace. Lucy's face was buried in the ice maker's neck. The girl felt her thoughts going back into their places, and new ones starting to emerge.

Lucy's mind wandered freely. The girl had her eyes closed feeling the warmth of her friends body against her cold skin.

"You found me where no one else was looking." The blonde finally spoke crossing her arms around Gray's neck. "How did you know just where I would be?" She asked with a soft voice.

"Does anybody else know you as much as I do?" Gray answered with a smile.

Lucy blushed and decided to change the course of their conversation. "It wasn't your attack that freed me, it was your voice... you broke through all of my confusion, you didn't leave me, you fought for me until the end." Lucy confessed with her eyes still closed.

"I wasn't the only looking for you. Fairy Tail's mages are all around Magnolia looking for you." Gray admitted he wasn't the only worried about her.

"But you were the one to find me. I guess that you saw what nobody could see." Lucy opened her eyes to look into Gray's concerned ones. "You found me." The girl smiled sweetly caressing his face with her hands.

"I was hiding... until you came along, and showed me where I belong." With that, Lucy reached for her friend's lips with her eyes half closed claiming his mouth with hers in a breathtaking kiss.

The blonde rolled over Gray's body making him fall on his back. They laid on the floor never breaking the kiss. As they kept the close contact, the ice maker ran his hand along Lucy's back making the girl shiver. His eyes went wide when he saw wings appearing on her back once again. Lucy broke the kiss with a lovely smile.

"Looks like I still can't control it." She sat on top of her friend who was dumbstruck staring at her wings.

"So, you've got wings?" The boy asked with a puzzled look. "I guess so." Lucy answered flapping her new wings. "How cool is that?" Gray replied while sitting, making Lucy's legs entangle on his waist in the process. The blonde crossed her legs around his waist still sitting on his lap and closing her wings around the ice alchemist's body.

"This feels so nice." Gray let out holding his friend by the waist. Lucy smiled seductively before leaning for another kiss. Gray closed his eyes expecting the touch that never happened.

Lucy stopped inches from his face. "Having me sit on your lap feels that nice?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I feel like a pervert now." Gray made a face and continued. "I meant your wings around us."

"Riiiiiiight. Let's pretend you meant that." The blonde laughed full heartedly. "It's time we got back to the guild, they must be worried." She stood and offered a hand to her friend. Gray took her helping hand and rose to his feet.

Lucy started heading to the gorge leaving a wondering Gray behind. "What are you going to do?" Gray shouted making his way to the girl.

"What do you think? I'm gonna jump." Lucy replied bluntly before turning her back to the ice maker. "Where is that vulcan? I think it took control over your body again." The boy held Lucy by the arm.

"So you wanna come too, huh?" Lucy hugged the ice mage from behind and jumped from the gorge. "Are you trying to get us killed?" Gray's voice was desperate. "We'll be alright!" The blonde answered.

It didn't take long for the celestial spirit mage to start flying through the clouds with the soft breeze caressing her skin. She seemed to be having trouble with establishing the right balance, which made Gray fear for their lives, it took the boy a while to get used to the height.

"How does it feel?" Lucy asked in a cheerful way. "Frightening." Gray replied making the blonde frown.

"Really? How about this then?" Lucy went higher to the point they could see the clouds from above. "L-Lucy! Get us back to the floor." Gray struggled to finish his sentence.

"Alright then, but remember, you were the one who asked for it." The blonde stopped her wings making their body free fall.

"This isn't funny, Lucy!" Gray closed his eyes and prayed that everything would end up just fine. The boy felt the wind rushing against his face becoming stronger indicating their speed was increasing.

They went straight to the floor and Lucy waited for the last minute to flap her wings strong enough to hold their body in air for less than a second, and then landed softly on the roof of their guild.

"You can open your eyes now." Lucy teased. Gray did as she said, but wasn't satisfied to know where he was.

"What are we doing here?" The ice mage asked. "We're back to the guild, like I promised we would." Lucy replied. "Can you let go of me? It's hard to walk like this." She teased once again making Gray realize he was still holding the blonde in a strong grip. Gray let go of his friend and started making his way to the floor.

"Firm land, finally!" The boy exclaimed as he touched the ground. Lucy giggled looking at her terrified companion.

"Now we just need to find Warren, and use his telepathy to communicate with the others." Lucy suggested. The blonde canceled her new magic, Aera, and went after the mage.

They found Warren still inside the guild, and asked for his help. Warren was relieved to know Lucy was fine. He used his telepathy to inform the other mages that Lucy was in the guild.

"Thanks Warren. We owe you one."Gray said smiling at his guild mate. They waited for everyone to arrive at the guild, being Natsu the first to get back.

"Lucy!" The dragon slayer threw himself over his friend holding the blonde in a tight grip. "Natsu... this hurts." Lucy tried to remove her body from the fire mage's grip. "You're alive." Happy collided against the girl's chest after Natsu let go of her.

Lucy looked around to realize Gray wasn't there anymore. She stood up and started wandering through the guild looking for him. Lucy went through a lot that day, waking up against her own will, having her body captive by a monster, and attacking one of her dearest friends, but nothing bothered her more than not knowing where this friend was right now. In the blonde's mind, a lot of possibilities appeared.

One by one all her guild mates started to show up displaying all the kinds of affection towards the girl. Lucy kept rising her head to look over the crowd trying to find her rescuer, but the celebration for her return increased significantly making it nearly impossible to find someone in that place.

Outside, Gray rested his back against one of the guild walls. He stared into nothing in particular when he heard steps becoming louder. Not really minding the intruder's presence, the ice maker kept gazing distantly. He seemed distracted, without any reaction, not even a blink of an eye.

"Gray..." A feminine voice came from behind the boy. Gray turned around to see Juvia standing with a worried face.

"What is it Juvia?" He asked nonchalantly. "Juvia is worried about her friend." The water mage sat besides the thoughtful person in front of her. "Gray-kun left all of a sudden." The girl spoke alarming her companion. For the first time since he met Juvia, she called him Gray-kun.

"I felt a little uncomfortable there... that's all." Juvia caught the hesitation in the boy's voice. "By the way, when did you start calling me Gray-kun?" Asked a confused Gray.

"Ah! This..." Juvia turned red and looked down. "Juvia can't call Gray-kun like that anymore." The water mage confessed. "Juvia is in love with someone else." The ice maker's eyes went wide with the shock. He never paid as much attention to the girl as he did now. "Who is it?" Gray asked instantly.

"His name is Lyon, Juvia isn't sure of her feelings for him yet, but Lyon-sama was very loving to Juvia. Juvia met him on the docks while she was looking for Lucy-san." The water mage confessed.

"Lyon? I know the guy, who would have thought, you and him." Gray smiled genuinely. He couldn't love Juvia back, so he was happy she found someone who can. "I still can't believe you're into that guy though." This time the ice alchemist laughed.

"Don't laugh!" Juvia nervously exclaimed. "W-What about Gray-kun and Lucy-san?" The water said hoping to change the subject.

"I'm not sure about anything anymore. I thought I knew what I wanted, but after today..." Gray laid his back on the floor staring at the stars. "I don't know what to do about her." He concluded.

"Is Gray-kun really talking about Lucy-san?" Juvia asked in disbelief leaning closer to the ice mage. "Yeah..." The boy simply replied with a sigh.

"Being afraid of failing before even trying isn't Gray-kun's style. Juvia knows because she saw Gray-kun risking his life to save Lucy-san without any hesitation." The girl rested her head on the ice alchemist's chest. "Gray-kun loves Lucy-san... Juvia knows he does."

"I'm not sure if I should keep trying, I've done everything I could to show her how much I care about her, and even then, she refused me... because." Gray lost his speech, anger traces forming on his face. "... Because of him."

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><p>Lucy left the guild looking for her missing friend. She felt her insides getting cold with concern as she searched on the corners of the guild. When the blonde was ready to give up, she heard a conversation coming from the last corner. She decided to check its source following the sound until she could distinguish the voices perfectly.<p>

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the ice mage laying with Juvia resting her head on his chest, but this fact alone wasn't the reason for the blonde's despair, Gray's next words were the main cause to Lucy's breakdown.

"You win! I give up, I... give up." Gray said still laying on the floor. "Juvia isn't saying you have to, but it'll be for the best." Lucy couldn't stand hearing those cruel words anymore, she forced her tears back, and ran away from there.

The girl tried to believe it was a misunderstanding, but deep inside she knew what she heard was true. She ran as fast as she could trying to get those thoughts out of her mind. Gray and Juvia? Did the water mage finally conquer his heart, but what about the time they spent together? Were those moments on his couch all for fun? Didn't they mean anything for him?

Lucy felt used and broken, her tears could no longer be held, her head hurt and so did her feet from all the running.

"I won't fall in love again... never! I won't allow anyone to play with my heart like this." Lucy said to herself in between her sobs. She went to Gray's house despite all she heard, and locked herself in his room.

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><p>It was getting late, and the guild was empty by now. Gray decided it was time to head home. "Thank you Juvia, you were really nice to me." Gray said offering a smile to the water mage.<p>

"Juvia is happy she could make Gray-sa- Gray-kun feel better." The girl returned the smile with a slight hint of pink surging on her cheeks. "Just make sure Gray-kun don't give up on Lucy like Juvia said."

"I already said you won. I know I should talk to her about it. I'll make it somehow." Gray offered a smile. I'll be on my way now. Bye." The ice mage stood up going back to his house. Juvia just waved her hand.

Gray visited a small store before going home, he looked nervous before entering the building. A quick glance at both directions, and he was inside the shop. The ice alchemist bought something that seemed to be small since he could close his hand around it. The boy left the place with a shy smile on his face, and went home in a faster pace.

Arriving home, Gray noticed his bedroom door was locked once again, he let out a long sigh, and moved to his couch. "I guess it'll have to wait." He muttered before laying on his couch with his hands on the back of his head.

Inside the bedroom, Lucy felt her sanity trying to abandon her. She met for the first time the symptoms of having a broken heart, giving up hope, saying she would never be able to love ever again, accusing love to never have existed in the first place. Her tears reflected all her pain as she blamed that tricky organ called heart for all the emotions she felt mixing inside her.

The blonde heard knocks on her door, but didn't dare to open it, she didn't want to face him right now. What could he possibly want to tell her? After she saw the ice maker with Juvia laying comfortably on the ground, enjoying each other like she used to do in Gray's couch. She felt deceived, like she made a fool of herself.

Gray headed back to his room door, breathed in and out, but then sighed. The boy seemed to get angry, and put on the table the item he previously held in his right hand. He stared into the small piece of silver laying over the wooden table with a softer expression, before tightly closing his eyes and turning his back to the bright object he once held like a treasure.

"You were wrong Juvia." He mumbled to himself with anger consuming his insides. The ice mage headed straight to his couch, laying with an uncontrollable urge to break into his own room.

Gray felt like a toy in Lucy's palm, like she could play with him as much as she pleased, and then simply throw him away, and lock herself in his room. It was tiring, he was sick of chasing her and receiving closed doors as answer.

In an instant, the person they wanted to spend the whole day with, turned out to be the one they've been avoiding for the past five minutes.

Love has many stages, joy, care, promises, smiles, plans and the list goes on, but right now, Lucy and Gray faced the worst of them, one that they forgot to consider when they allowed themselves to fall in love.

Deception.

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><p><strong>That's it for now. My chapters are becoming shorter T-T <strong>

**Only one more to go.**

**There's another song hidden on this chapter. I didn't write its lyrics completely, but if someone knows it, I'm sure it gets pretty obvious x)**

**I'll write the names of the song and artist in the next chapter in case no one figures where the song is :)**

**I hope to see you all in the last chapter. Bye!**


	7. Sunday

**I'm sorry for such a late update, Sieg took some time away from the internet :x**

**This will probably be the last chapter. (Probably)**

**So thank you for reading it and for the reviews. I hope the last chapter is what all of you expected.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Sunday<strong>

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><p>Sunday came along with a sky filled with clouds. The wind sound was sinister in that morning giving Lucy a hard time alone inside Gray's room. She left the bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face, but in her way, Lucy noticed there wasn't anyone aside from her at the house.<p>

_So he wants to play hard to get. Fair enough._

Lucy fixed her hair and was about to leave the house when she saw a shining item over a side table. She sat on the couch and examined the object. It was probably something personal, but curiosity struck the blonde with all its force.

"Just a quick glance." Lucy's hand slowly approached a silver box, the girl opened it revealing its content. She couldn't contain her surprise as she saw the sparkling silver of two rings right before her eyes. "Oh no... what have I done?" Lucy rushed outside the house taking with her only the small box, her keys and her whip.

The blonde headed towards the guild. She laughed sarcastically as fate seemed to be playing around with her, a little misunderstanding was enough to make her act ever so coldly with her friend, the one who didn't think twice before allowing her in his house when she needed.

Now she had the bitter feeling that she wouldn't find him in the guild. Lucy stopped right before the guild doors trying to repel those pessimist thoughts from her head. The girl carefully moved the doors open.

"Ohayou, Lucy." Said Mira behind the counter. Mira wore a wide smile that day. Lucy observed the movement inside the guild was higher than normal, something seemed abnormal that day.

"Mira-chan, what's going on today." The celestial spirit mage asked just to be abruptly pushed away. "Get out of the way, this time I'll definitely be a man." Elfman roared making his way to the request board and ripping another paper.

"Don't tell me it is..." The girl said weakly while she barely managed to stand up and have a seat on a bench. "Not again!"

"I'm afraid it is." Mira said as she cleaned another cup. "The S-Class test, it was interrupted last time, so we'll be having another, and the ones who didn't have a chance last time we'll have a second try now." Mira finished much to Lucy's horror.

"What? How come I'm always the last one to know such important things?" Lucy winced.

"I... honestly don't have an answer for you." Mira bluntly let out with her index finger on her lower lip.

"Let me guess... Natsu and Gray are out on missions." Lucy pointed out. "Actually they are already qualified, so they don't have to." Mira replied. "The master will be announcing the other qualified mages today." The S-Class mage concluded.

"Something tells me I won't be among them." Lucy sadly retorted. "But if Natsu and Gray aren't on missions, where are they?" The blonde questioned.

"You're aware that Natsu and Gray killed spirits in the celestial realm, right?" Not waiting for an answer, the white haired woman proceed. "They've started suffering the collateral effects of having those powers into their bodies and-"

"What did you say? So they absorbed the power from the spirits? Those things were unbelievable strong!" Lucy exclaimed while she remembered her fight in the celestial realm. _Why didn't I kill that damned brunette? I would be so strong now._

"I know right." Mira said with a lovely smile. "I heard you didn't kill the spirit in your fight." Mira stated and Lucy nodded. "I didn't, I wouldn't be able to kill a spirit even if I tried." The blonde said as images of her spirits crossed her mind.

"You did well. The power is great, but it's difficult to control, if you don't handle it carefully, you might die from it." Mira spoke as if it was nothing to worry about before offering Lucy a drink.

"They might what?" The girl jumped out of her seat. "They might die, and you say that with such a straight face." Lucy's eyes were filled with concern. She felt her heart racing in an amazing speed. "Where are they?"

"They left to the beach, the same you trained before." Mira didn't have enough time to finish her speech, as Lucy was already walking away towards the guild doors. "Bye!" The blonde said before leaving the building.

"Bye?" A dumbstruck Mira was left slowly waving her hand.

Outside, Lucy found happy looking devastated. The exceed had a fish in his hand, but didn't dare to bring it to his mouth.

"Lucy!" The cat exclaimed. "Have you seen Natsu?"

"No, I haven't, but I know where he is." Lucy replied in a hurry.

"I'll take you there." Happy proudly spread his wings and flew by Lucy's side in order to grab her arms and take off. "Nah, I'll pass this one." The girl revealed her much larger wings making Happy's jaw drop fiercely to the floor.

"W-W-W-What the... what's that, Lucy?" The exceed's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open.

"I don't have time to explain right now." Lucy took the cat in her arms and left after her two friends. Happy had a blank expression making Lucy somehow uneasy. She felt like she shouldn't, but decided to ask. "What's wrong with you?"

"I just found out I've become useless." Happy let out with the same vague look on his face. Lucy laughed softly trying not to offend the shocked cat in her arms.

No more words were spoken in their way to the beach. When they finally arrived at their destination, fire was all over the place, but not the slight sign of ice could be spotted.

Lucy landed gently on the sand. The blonde wiped some sand from her skirt and moved in Natsu's direction. Natsu was laying on the sand looking very tired.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed running to the fire mage's encounter. When the girl got close enough, she noticed, her friend's eyes were different. The salamander's eyes were dragon, his iris was red, and his pupil was squinty like a dragon's.

"Natsu? Are you alright?" Asked the concerned blonde. She softly dropped to her knees and ran a hand through Natsu's hair. The boy took Lucy's hand in his, and pulled her face to his. Lucy's reflexes took control of her arms throwing a noisy slap at the dragon slayer's face. A few moments went by with pure silence.

"She doesn't liiiiiiiiiike him." The exceed said amused with the force Lucy packed in that slap. He wondered if Natsu would stay conscious in case the girl had chosen to punch him.

Natsu held his face with one of his hands staring sternly at his blonde friend. "Why did you do that?" Asked the fire mage.

"And you have the courage to ask me why. I thought you'd understand right away, but in this case... You tried to kiss me!" Lucy shot a deadly glare at Natsu before standing once again and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hey look, I can see the mark of Lucy's hand on your face!" Happy spoke making Lucy wonder if she went too far with the slap.

"I thought you liked me, that's what everyone says." Natsu confessed still staring intensely at the girl. "Is that so? If you really thought I liked you, then you should have asked me out, or maybe show me that you like me too, but instead, you took me for granted and started trying to steal kisses." Lucy's words were harsh and they struck right in the salamander's heart, but even then, Natsu could see where he went wrong.

And maybe he did have a chance with her, they were the most likely to become a couple, now it was obvious to him, but his dense behavior and lack of love interest in the celestial spirit mage can be counted as the two main reasons for their current situation.

"Can't we start again? I promise I'll be an awesome boyfriend." Natsu sat and gave Lucy a look she had never seen in his face, it was a pitiful look, one that didn't fit the fire mage's personality.

"I'm afraid you took too long, if you would tell me this a couple of days ago, I'm sure I'd be willing accept, even when I said I looked at you only as a good friend." Lucy admitted with a sad look.

"Why can't you do it now?" Asked the boy with pink hair. He had a worried look, as if he already knew the answer. "Is it love? Is it love that you're feeling for Gray?" He rested his hand over Lucy's while he waited for his answer. The suspense consumed the boy's inside, every second the girl took to answer was torturing him, he almost wished he could read minds, but reading her mind could be

The blonde's lips started moving and word by word all Natsu's doubts left him, his hopes began to vanish giving place to anger and disappointment.

"Yes... I love him, it's no longer possible to hide it. I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings." Lucy revealed, most like informed. She didn't feel bad for Natsu anymore, couldn't she have her own happiness? Must she do everything thinking about others? Why does she have to hide her feelings like this? Questions invaded the celestial spirit mage's mind, but something even more urgent was calling her attention.

"Where's Gray?" Lucy said suddenly alarmed by the thought. "I dunno exactly, the only thing I know, is that he is with Ultear trying to control his new power." Natsu carefully explained. "Even I had a hard time controlling it." The boy bragged.

"But tell me Lucy? What is it you feel for Gray?" Natsu started with a friendly tone, but the fire mage slowly started to get serious. "Are you sure it's love? You know, I could be a better boyfriend than droopy-eyes, I'll prove it to you." He stood up trying to reach her hand once again, but the blonde didn't allow it this time making the dragon slayer flinch.

"What is so special about Gray after all? I don't see why you'd take him over me." Natsu's expression changed, he was beginning to lose his mind, the feeling of rejection was getting the best of him in an amazing pace.

"I don't need to answer that." Lucy started walking away with a frown appearing in her face.

"I have the right to know! Don't leave me without an answer." Natsu insisted, even when he knew the answer would be negative, he just couldn't suppress his will to win the girl.

"You really wanna know, right? Ok, I'll tell you." Lucy stopped and sighed. She should have known it wouldn't be so simple when it comes to Natsu.

"I love Gray, because when I am with him, I feel like nothing is wrong, because when I'm not with him, being by his side is all I want. He makes my heart race in different ways." The girl stopped noticing there was no reply coming from the salamander. She turned to face her friend, and realized he was once again too close to her.

"No one will ever want you more than me." Natsu crossed his arms around the blonde's waist bringing her closer to him.

"That might be true, but even then, being wanted isn't everything. With Gray I feel wanted, I feel needed... I feel loved, what you feel for me can't be compared to this." Lucy lightly pushed her friend away from her.

"I need to go." With that, the celestial spirit mage left, leaving behind a hopeless Natsu. Happy watched everything in silence, and though the exceed could make some mismatching comments some times, he didn't dare to say anything this time.

"I won't lose you..." Natsu muttered to himself as he watched Lucy fading away in the distance. Happy patted his best friend's had trying to comfort him.

* * *

><p>The streets of Magnolia were dark due to the clouds preventing the sun from touching the ground below. Lucy walked aimlessly trying to figure a way to find her friend. She's been trying desperately to figure where he could go if he wanted to be on his own, but she didn't find him in any of these places.<p>

Deciding it was useless to keep wandering the around, Lucy headed back to the guild looking very upset.

_Where did you go?_

The girl sighed in defeat, she stopped before the guild gates thinking if she should go inside, or remain motionless. She put a hand over the cold wood of the gate and started pushing it open.

"Lucy! You came back just in time." Levy cheered from a table. "Master you announce the remaining people to the test." The girl informed.

"This time we will still have teams." Makarov said as he stood on the bar counter.

"The following members will be competing for the title of S-Class mage. Listen carefully." The old man pointed his index finger to the crowd.

"You already know the first two members. The third one is Gajeel Redfox!" Gajeel only grunted trying to look like it was already expected.

"Levy McGarden!" Jet and Droy cheered, but then remembered they would surely be left out this time, like the last one. From the other corner, a timid smile took place in Gajeel's features. Makarokv proceeded with the announcements.

"Juvia Lockser!" Juvia was smiling brightly, it was only when she took a small glance at Erza that her face turned back to a serious one. In the last test, the water mage had a hard time fighting the titania.

"Cana Alberona!" After hearing her name, Cana let out a long sigh. Although she looked like she already knew she would be chosen, it was clear that the card mage was relieved to take place once again.

"And the last one will be!" The master stopped after making the unnecessary suspense for his own entertainment. The whole guild joined in asking the same thing.

"How come only six people made it this time?" Elfman asked with a horrified look in her face.

"You shouldn't worry about it, you're the last one after all." The little master bluntly retorted. The guild fell silence. Everyone was surprised in different ways.

"Am I the last one?" Elfman questioned in disbelief. A few seconds went in utter silence, a lot of mages had their expectations broken this time, they worked hard for this, but even then, they couldn't make it.

"Not really, there's another one." Makarov said with a large grin. Suddenly all the guild had their eyes on the master again.

"It's Lucy Heartfilia." The old man finally finished the list. "So, are you ready?" Asked Makarov raising his hand and pointing his index finger to the ceiling.

"Yeah!" The guild responded in unison.

"Let's go Fairy Tail!" Natsu broke into the guild in the last second, Gray following close behind. At the other side, Lucy felt like a huge load left from over her back. The girl was beginning to worry about Gray's whereabouts.

"Gray?" Lucy walked towards the ice mage as fast as she could ignoring the events of last night, she felt her heart lighter, but as she kept her way to him, the blonde realized the boy wasn't so thrilled to see her. Slowing her pace, Lucy's face began to change to a worried one.

"Alright everyone! We'll decide the teams now." Makarov cut through Lucy's confusion earning her attention.

"Natsu and Lucy will form the Celestial Slayers team." The master announced much to Gray's horror. The ice mage has been awfully quiet this afternoon, Lucy wondered what could have happened to him.

"Oi! How come two of the selected mages will form a team? What if they win? Will both of them become S-Class?" Asked a drunk Cana.

"You'll see once you get there!" Makarov replied.

"I think we're being unfair here, shouldn't the same people that went last time go this time too?" Mira spoke behind her counter.

"That's up to me to decide, and I decide these are the ones taking the test this time." The little master said lifting his beer to his mouth. Mira was taken by surprise by such a harsh response and decided to keep quiet.

"Second team will have Cana and Elfman as members, should I name this team too?" Makarov scanned everyone's face to check the answer.

"Of course you should master, you named the last one." Mira decided to speak once again.

"Oh, that's because it was an obvious name. How the hell am I supposed to name a team with a person that spend more time drunk than sober, and a muscle-head?" The master questioned taking a long sip from his fourth glass of beer.

"I heard that!" Cana retorted. "If you have muscles, you're a man!" Elfman cheered.

"So we're basically all men here." Evergreen teased. "I meant huge muscles!" Elfman tried to explain himself. "You should give up, you're only making things worse." Evergreen replied. A huge confusion started with everyone suggesting names, and offending each other. Meanwhile Mira and Makarov discussed the future of their teams.

"What are you going to do about the name for their team?" Mira asked confused.

Makarov leaned closer to the woman to whisper. "I'll mix take over with something and see what I get."

"Master!" Mira sounded genuinely indignant, but deep inside she wanted to laugh. "When you look at Cana, what do you think?" She asked.

"Booze? What else would I think? She is always drinking wine directly from the barrels." Makarov answered once again, and this time Mira couldn't help but laugh.

"I got a name!" The master of fairy tail finally made up his mind. After cleaning his sixth glass of wine... or was it beer? Makarov turned back to face the guild people, he cleared his throat and continued to inform the name of their team. "Take booze!" The little old man proudly stated.

"What? You're kidding me, right?" Lucy sounded reluctant whereas her guild mates wore an agreeing face.

_Some times I feel like I'm the weird one in this place. _

"Juvia and Gray will be forming the following team, and I'll name them..." Makarov took his ninth glass of... what was it again? Whatever... it was alcohol, and then continued. "Ice today water tomorrow! Or the opposite, depends on which of them you take first."

Lucy sighed and cursed the old man, just when she needed to talk to Gray.

"And last but not least, Gajeel and Levy... will form... team Iron bookworms!" And of course, this name got the guild seal of approval.

When everything seemed to be ready and everybody was cheering and supporting their favorite members, a question emerged from below the excitement.

"What's the test this time?" Asked Lucy.

"I hope it's a battle!" Natsu exclaimed.

"You always say that, and you're always wrong, you should just give up." Lucy said already fuming with anger.

"It's a battle." Makarov let out bluntly. The guid fell silent.

"Did you hear that happy?" Between dumbstruck mages, Natsu asked joyfully while Lucy had her jaw hitting the floor.

"We didn't have any time to think about something better. So this time, it'll be all about battles." Makarov concluded.

"The fight will be out in the woods, we're leaving now!" Makarov led the way outside.

They were all worried in their own way, even though some of them didn't admit it. Natsu was bragging with Gajeel something about reaching the top and becoming the strongest mage in the guild in his usual tone of determination, Juvia and Gray were having a conversation about strategy, Cana and Elfman didn't seem to find a way to agree in anything while Lucy and Levy were discussing how stupid this test was.

It was around three PM when they arrived at the selected place. A forest with a large open area and some threes around. There was a small grandstand already waiting for them, since the rest of the mages would be watching and supporting.

"Master? Why did you chose such a place?" Levy asked out of pure curiosity.

"We'll sort the teams now, the rules are simple, when you can't stand anymore, you lose... just make sure you don't get too beaten to the point you can't stand tomorrow, or after..." The master said.

"Who organized this test? Natsu?" Levy questioned with narrowed eyebrows.

"The first two teams competing will be." The old man stopped, once again making everyone's heart race with excitement or just fear.

"Everyone please pick a number from one to four. We'll randomly generate the fights." Mira explained and started shaking her hand in a pot with the numbers.

"We're number one." Gajeel and Natsu said almost in unison.

"Natsu and Lucy can have number one." Mira stared explaining. "You two will be number two." Mira pointed to Gajeel and Levy. "You there, number three." She informed Cana and Elfman. "And you take four, is that alright?" Mira finished looking at Gray and Juvia, who just nodded in agreement.

The remaining mages started taking their seats, Erza sat besides Jellal who was invited by the master to join them. Another guest was Lyon, Juvia made sure he would be there.

"Looks like it'll be more like an emotional battle than a physical one." Erza whispered in Jellal's ear.

"Can you say that again?" The man asked teasingly, but Erza didn't seem to understand.

"I said, it'll be an emotional battle." The titania whispered once again. It was only when Jellal asked her to repeat for the third time, that Erza finally realized the intentions behind his constant lack of audition.

"Do you like the sound of my voice close to your ear that much?" Erza asked with a tempting face, still close to Jellal's ear. The man wasn't expecting such an approach, and fell silent.

The fairy queen smiled seductively and did something that made Jellal jump in his seat, she bit his ear tip, and licked it afterward.

"Behave yourself." Jellal nervously said trying to keep calm about the situation. That woman would learn a thing or two about teasing when they got back home.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Lisanna said as she tried to make her way to the next seat. "I think I'll take another seat." The girl smiled suggestively and left.

"See what you did?" Jellal tried to explain himself to Lisanna, but the girl knew exactly what was going on there.

After everyone had their seats, Mira proceed to inform the teams for the matches. "I'll now present you the first two teams heading to battle."

"And they are... Celestial slayers and Ice today water tomorrow." The woman happily introduced. Lucy and Gray exchanged looks of concern. People became aware of what the incoming battle would bring with it, and started making their previsions. Mumbling mages all over the grandstand discussed what element would be the winner, they obviously forgot to consider Lucy... again.

"Just kidding!" Mira said, and everyone instantly sent death glares towards the poor woman. "Natsu and Lucy will fight Gajeel and Levy." she finished.

"What? I can't fight her!" Lucy and Levy said together.

"I'm sorry, but these are the results." Mira said sympathetically

"So I just have to beat the salamander? I could do this everyday!" Gajeel hissed to Panther Lily.

"Don't get overconfident." The exceed alerted.

"I'll go first!" Natsu jumped inside the open area. "Lucy, if you don't want to fight, it's ok, I'll take both!" The fire mage was clearly even more confident than Gajeel.

"What did you say? I'll make you swallow your words." The other dragon slayer stepped forth to the match.

"Wait! Lucy and Levy are the first to go!" Mira rushed to stop the two mages who seemed ready to brawl. Once she got close enough to the two in the arena, Mira held their arms before they could take another step.

Gajeel and Natsu turned to glare at the woman, just to have the grasp around their arms tightened. "You really think your cute little faces are scary, right?" Mira sent a dark glare towards them while she spoke in a very low, but sinister tone, making the two shiver from head to toe. "You should think twice!" With that, Mira went back to her sweet state.

"Alright mina-san! First match will be between Lucy and Levy!" The white-haired woman introduced the first competitors and left the arena along with frightened dragon slayers.

"I can't..." Lucy said as she made her way to the fighting are.

"Me neither." Levy replied also approaching the main field.

"You may start now!" Mira gave them permission to start the fight, but they didn't seem to attend, instead they stood there looking at each other.

"You attack me first." Lucy ordered, clenching her hands in fists. "No, you do!" Levy retorted.

"I won't..." Lucy shot back. Several minutes passed, and only words could be spotted in the battle field.

"We should have known something like this would happen." Makarov whispered to Mira. "A bit too late to consider that." She replied.

When everyone was about to lose their patience, Aquarius' key dropped from Lucy's waist, and to her despair, it fell in a puddle of water.

"Which key is that?" Levy asked desperately, lifting her hands to her head.

"Aquarius'" Lucy replied with a blank face.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" The other girl questioned fearing for her life.

"We are..." The blonde answered still expressionless.

Aquarius came forth with her own magic power already looking quite annoyed. She turned to look at Lucy with anger traces on her face. The girl stood defenseless in front of the enraged spirit, she rose her hands in a protective way, shaking them in a denying motion with a look on her face that said 'it wasn't me'.

"You dared to let my key drop like this." Aquarius swung her jar in the air already preparing some water to pour down the whole place.

"At least aim at my opponent!" Lucy tried t convince her spirit not to murder her. From the other side of the arena, Levy's eyes snapped wide open with surprise. "I thought you said you don't want to fight me!" The girl exclaimed.

Aquarius flooded the main field with a strong stream of water carrying Levy away along its way. However, the audience missed an important point. Where did Lucy go? They couldn't see her in the right or in the left. The water was already gone, and no sign of the blonde.

"She is up there." Gray said looking at the sky. The rest of the mages did look at the pointed direction, but some of them still couldn't believe what they saw.

"Lucy... is flying." Natsu held his surprise as much as he could. "I told you she could!" Happy proudly spoke.

The celestial spirit mage landed gently on the main field, receiving the victory in the process.

"And the winner is... Lucy!" Mira announced, but the victor didn't seem to enjoy it as much as the noisy crowd.

"Next, we'll have Natsu against Gajeel. Oh, and Lucy! Nice move." Mira winked at the blonde and gave sequence to the next fighters.

"I'm all fired up. Bring it!" Natsu punched his knuckles together as he made his way to the field.

"You're in for some trouble now." Gajeel challenged.

"Ready... set... go!" Mira happily started jumping like a little girl as she said the last word. "Mira-nee, this isn't a race, you know." Lisanna alerted when her sister sat next to her.

"I know, but I always wanted to say that." Mira replied, and Lisanna sighed.

Gajeel and Natsu didn't waste any time studying the opponent, they rushed straight to a trade of iron strikes and flame blows. The two dragon slayers seemed to be fighting equally as they kept exchanging punches neither of them worrying much about the dodging part.

Half of the trees around them were already devastated by the magic attacks they threw towards each other. Natsu prepared his dragon roar, and Gajeel answered with his.

Fire and Iron collided in a clash to prove which was the strongest. One thing is for sure, they were running out of magic power very fast.

The two roaring mages kept raising the force put in their attacks, until the pressure was too high to maintain the balance, and before their eyes, a huge explosion occurred sending both fighters to opposite sides.

They laid on the floor, looking like they were done for the match, but knowing those two, and how stubborn they could be, no one dared to say the fight was over.

Lucy had her mind traveling far from the match, she couldn't stop thinking about the terrible mistake she's done yesterday. She tried to think about a way to talk to the ice maker, but he seemed to be avoiding her, and it was starting to bother her terribly.

The blonde kept watching the fight, and in between the pauses the two dragon slayers made to regain their breaths, Lucy directed quick glances at Gray, who didn't seem to respond at all. The girl stopped being worried about the situation, and started becoming angry at the lack of attention she was getting from the boy. Her boiling blood served as fuel to her, erasing her incapacity to move. In a matter of seconds, Lucy was already by Gray's side dragging him away from the grandstand. Juvia didn't mind the sudden interference in her conversation with the ice alchemist, she thought it would be better to let them be.

They left to a isolated are without major problems. The only thing wrong with their departure, was the fact that Natsu got enraged over Lucy deciding the fight wasn't worth her attention, and even worse, she left with Gray.

Gajeel had some serious problems coming his way.

Once they got far enough from the crowd, Lucy stopped not turning to look at her companion. They were near a lake with some bushes around. The place was really beautiful despite the dense atmosphere forming around the two mages.

The ice maker didn't know what to think, his brain has been twisted more than twice. Nothing made sense anymore. The same girl who avoided him yesterday, was now dragging him to random places. He felt bad, he didn't wish to stay for longer than a minute, but still, the ice mage couldn't find strength to leave.

Gray's thoughts came to an abruptly end, when Lucy finally decided to face him. The girl's face revealed concern, sadness and utter confusion.

"Why...?" She stopped, trying not to release the dangerous combination of feelings that were making her heart ache so much.

_'Why?', _the boy wondered. For many times, this question stormed his thoughts, in some cases, he was left without an answer. Before him stood one of the reasons for the excessive amount of doubts in his life.

"I don't understand." Gray finally managed to reply. His voice was soft, not being able to hide his weak side.

"Why are you making it so hard for me? I came after you... because..." The girl fought back the streaming tears on her face. Now was not the time to be hesitating, she needed to be firm.

"Because?" Gray replied with another question. He looked calm despite the situation he had in hand.

"Just tell me... what happened with us? When did we let this happen? We were getting along so well, and now!" Lucy sighed in a desperate way. "Look at us..." The girl hissed, slowing down her breathing. "We used to wake up together, spend the day together... go back home together." It was no longer possible to hold the anguish eroding her insides.

"Don't go talking like you're the victim." Gray suddenly rose his tone, grabbing the blonde by the wrist. Lucy whined in pain.

"Gray you're hurting me." The girl said trying to remove her hand from the boy's grip. The ice mage realized what he was doing, and let loose Lucy's wrist. He couldn't believe what he had just done, he really hurt her, to the point he left finger marks on the his friend's skin.

"I... I'm sorry." Said the boy looked down to the ground looking for his dignity. He hurt one of his dearest friends, and it felt horrible, it wasn't as pleasing as hurting Natsu.

"You know what?" Lucy took her companion's face in hand lifting it so he could face her. "I think we're better as friends." She smiled halfheartedly. Words wouldn't be able to describe the despair Gray felt as those words left his friend's lips. He instantly stiffed, the shock was great, but also expected, he just didn't know it would affect him so much.

"You're right. I won't complain..." Gray closed his eyes while sighing heavily. "But before you turn around and leave, could you please listen?" Lucy nodded looking somehow worried.

"I won't give you that overused speech about not wanting to lose you, and that at least we can still be friends... no..." The ice mage paused for a while, he felt his voice beginning to tremble, and as he forced it to sound firm, Lucy noticed how deep she was reaching his heart in that moment.

"I don't even know what to tell you right now. I feel like... nothing." Gray closed both his hands in tight fists never looking Lucy in the eye. His hair covered his eyes since he kept his stare to the floor.

"Whoever said men don't cry," the ice maker's vision became blurry with the tears starting to form in his eyes, "had never met love in his... miserable life." The boy finally allowed the two captive droplets to slide freely down his cheek. Lucy bit her lower lip trying to suppress her own tears.

"I can't blame him. If I knew how this was going to end, I wouldn't allow myself to fall for you either." Gray said, turning to leave, he wiped his tears with his hand trying to disguise his state. Lucy stood speechless as she saw her love abandoning her.

Pride, fear or anger, what made Lucy keep quiet about what was bothering her didn't matter at this point. Gray was gone, and it looked like getting back was becoming a distant reality.

Lucy maintained her composure, she was strong, she showed him she had the strength to do what she thought was right, as far as her pride allowed her to. As soon as Gray's figure was out of her eye sight, she dropped to her knees with her hands on her face, asking herself and whoever was willing to answer, what she had just done.

Back at the main field, Natsu and Gajeel headed for what seemed to be a final blow. They punched each other faces, making both of them fly backwards. The two mages stayed at the floor for a couple of seconds, before Gajeel started to move.

The audience was surprised, after all, they were used to see Natsu as the one who never loses, and never gives up, no matter how much he gets beaten, he will always stand up and fight. The happy started screaming Natsu's name hoping it would make the salamander rise again.

After Natsu slowly stood up, his body had almost no energy left to even stand. Gajeel was on his knees while his opponent kept rising to his feet. Now both of them were standing and facing each other, but moving was clearly impossible at this rate, none of them dared to take a single step, their remaining energy were spent in being awake.

"Give up salamander, you're done already." Gajeel said laughing between his deep breaths.

"Says the one who can't take another step." Natsu shot back, also breathing heavily.

A couple of minutes went by, before a loud thud could be heard meaning someone didn't have enough strength to go on, or at this rate, maybe physical endurance wasn't the differential. The one with higher spirit would be the victor.

The audience cheered, jumping and shouting, but someone in particular wasn't so satisfied with the results. From the corner of the grandstand, Levy watched a severely beaten Gajeel laying on the floor. The dragon slayer kept staring at the sky as he felt his senses abandoning him, before he feel unconscious.

"The winner is Natsu! Celestial Slayers may proceed to the next match, but before that, we need to know what team will make it to the finals." Mira lively said going lifting Natsu's arm as a symbol of his victory.

Natsu was all smiles with his triumph, and though for some times, the fire mage can be a slow when it comes to realizing the events around him, this time he couldn't help but notice. As everyone cheered for him, his eyes quickly scanned the place looking for the only one he desired. It was true that he won the fight, but he still felt like he lost it, seeing Levy helping Gajeel to stand, he almost wished he lost the fight. Gajeel had something he didn't, and it bothered him like nothing else.

Makarov announced the following match, that was between Juvia and Cana. The fight didn't last long, the water woman quickly got the upper hand and defeated the other competitor without major problems. As Juvia left the arena to switch with Gray, she couldn't help but notice the way her partner looked while walking towards the open area. The ice mage was expressionless, he didn't say anything as he walked past his friend, which made her worry even more.

Juvia walked past everyone to sit next to Lyon. "Did Juvia make Lyon-sama proud?" The water mage cheerfully asked, leaning to rest her head over Lyon's shoulder.

"You were perfect." Lyon replied placing a soft kiss on his soon to be girlfriend's lips. They sat comfortably nuzzling in each others arms, but got horrified with the show Gray was putting on the arena. The ice maker went in a berserker state, completely overwhelming Elfman. Gray didn't even use his ice magic, he just threw hard punches not really minding to aim them. When the match seemed to be over for Elfman, the take over mage held Gray's punch with a single hand, which obviously made everyone surprised.

"I won't fight you anymore", Gray's eyes got wide with Elfman's last words, the boy simply didn't understand why that body builder would say something like that to him.

Gray's expression went from surprise to anger. "Why not? Are you afraid? Come on fight me!" The ice mage kept punching, but his attacks didn't seem to affect Elfman at all.

"You're not fighting like a man. You're out of yourself, the Gray I know, would never throw himself in a careless style like this." Elfman finished before tossing the ice mage's arm aside and connecting a hard punch on his stomach. Gray knelt in pain.

"If you don't start fighting like a man, you better give up now!" Elfman got in fighting stance once again, but Gray kept fighting like a mad man, resulting in a humiliating defeat.

"And the winner iiiiiiiiiis, Elfman! With these results we'll have to decide it in a third fight, between Elfman and Juvia!" Mira informed.

Juvia walked down the grandstand to join Elfman for their battle.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're not a man." Juvia's opponent warned her. "Juvia doesn't need different treatment, look at Juvia as if she was a man." The water mage said after setting her feet on the arena.

"That sounds wrong in so many ways." Lyon mumbled to no one in particular. "Good luck , Juvia!" Recovered from the shock, the mage cheered.

Elfman tried his hardest, but couldn't avoid Juvia's fast water attacks. The girl waited for the fully transformed man at the other side of the field, to be completely exhausted, when she noticed he couldn't keep avoiding anymore, Juvia simply used water lock, making Elfman give up.

From the distance, Gray watched as Juvia defeated the one who put him through so much trouble. She made it look easy, it bothered him.

"Juvia is the victor, everyone!" Mira said repeating her actions from the last battles. "We'll take a ten minutes break for now, I bet you're all tired by now." The woman finished.

Each participant spent the break in its own way. Natsu searched for the slight sign of fire to refill his energy, since he already fought, Juvia went for a walk holding hands with Lyon, Lucy sat near the lake with her feet underwater and Gray rested his back on a tree far away from the main event.

While cursing his love life, Gray saw Juvia and Lyon passing by, and for a moment, the ice mage felt something odd, he couldn't really put a finger on it, some kind of jealousy, but not entirely, he wasn't sure about what to call it.

Lucy changed her mind from five to five minutes, she considered going to Gray, then thought he should be the one looking for her. She haven't decided who was wrong and who was right yet, but even then, it seemed to be late for this now.

The break was over, and the four remaining competitors made their way to the battle field. It was around five PM when they restarted their test, the sun was getting ready to set, meaning they had to hurry if they didn't want to fight in the dark.

"The first match will be between Natsu and Gray! I hope you're all ready, it's going to get hot here, or cold, who knows?" Mira introduced the next fight and left the main field. Natsu approached the arena, and so did Gray, they exchanged looks and waited for the signal to start.

They started fighting, and again, Gray seemed to be lost in thoughts, doing the first thing that crossed his mind, no plans, no holding back, just straight forward brawling.

Natsu easily dodged all the ice maker's attacks as if they were nothing. "Come on droopy-eyes, you can do better than that." The fire mage teased, earning a colder glare from the enraged Gray in front of him.

"What is Gray-kun doing? It's not usual for him to lose his cool like that." Juvia asked worried about her friend.

"I'm not sure, but something tells me we're very close to discover." Replied a rather jealous Lyon.

Natsu had the fight in hands, he could even guess Gray's next moves, the ice mage was fighting a lost battle. "I'm tired of playing with you Gray, Elfman was right, you're fighting like a girl!" The salamander exclaimed before preparing a dragon roar.

_Is that it? Am I going to lose again? _Gray thought as he saw the flames coming closer by the second. I didn't look like he had a plan to evade that attack, he just stood waiting for it... and it came. The massive amount of fire spit by Natsu collided with Gray's body.

"Is this your limit? I thought you came here to fight." Natsu let out a cocky grin, put both hands at the back of his head, and started waking away. The dust covered the view from the audience, but none of them had the slight doubt about the result, it was Natsu fighting, he never loses, right?

"Disappointing! I expected much more." A random member started what would soon become a ruckus about the previous battle. More joined him in his arguments, letting very clear their opinions about Gray's defeat.

Gray laid on the floor, but he was still conscious, he heard every word, he felt his blood boiling inside his veins, anger seemed to be the only thing moving the ice alchemist. The audience fell silence for a second after hearing a desperate blonde drawing all her courage in a single sentence.

"Stand up..." Gray barely heard the words, but couldn't believe them, his surprise was as great as the pain he felt. "Stand up." This time it was clear, still, no answer from the boy. "I said... Stand up!" Lucy rose, allowing every one to see whose voice was the one giving hope to the fallen fighter.

"Don't you dare to give up! I'll never forgive you if you do." The blonde shout from the grandstand already making her way to the first row, in order to have a better view and access to the arena.

Gray's eyes begged him to let them close, his muscles ached, but the worst part was the confusion taking place in his had. Lucy denied him, and suddenly starts cheering for him, it had to be a bad joke.

After hearing those words of motivation from the girl he supposedly loved, Natsu got furious, how much closer could they get? It looked like no matter how hard the dragon slayer tried, he would still be outmatched when the subject was Lucy's love, and this was making him lose control very fast.

"Why do you support droopy-eyes so much? I'm much stronger than him!" Natsu started walking towards an exhausted Gray with a reddish aura surrounding him, his eyes were once again resembling a dragon's, scales started to form on his arms and his hair went wild like dancing flames.

"Take over?" Asked Elfman in utter confusion. "I doubt, this seems to be the results of controlling those absorbed power from the spirit he fought at the celestial realm." Mira spoke in a worried tone for the first time, seeing how fearsome Natsu's face became.

The public loved the transformation, and wished for more fight. "Stop that!" Lucy ordered the lively mages, they all turned to look at her. "Are you all blind? Gray is in no condition to fight?" Lucy had a mad expression, she was suffering as much as her friend inside the main field, or maybe even more. "Could it be that you're all so selfish that you can't see that? The only thing you want is to see a fight, right? It doesn't matter if one of the sides is your friend and can't fight back." She somehow earned the attention from her guild mates, they were appalled for a while, thinking about their behavior, but their faces showed something else this time, it was named surprise.

After Gray recovered to the point he could keep standing, the fight continued, and nothing seemed to change, Natsu still had the overwhelming upper hand. The only thing between the fire mage and the S-Class title was his rival, but even the naïve Romeo did notice the fight had changed its values from titles to emotions.

As Gray dodged the attacks and got hit by some, Lucy let her thoughts flow through her mind. She went back to where she met Gray, and the horrible first impression he left, the missions they spent together, and how hurt he was when he found Deliora, the time when they changed bodies and the fear she felt when he tried to take off her clothes. All those memories seemed so fond, even when some of them were clearly annoying.

The blonde's mind traveled back to the future, and she saw the ice mage struggling to maintain himself awake, the only thing he could do was move away from the heated strikes directed at him. It was no longer possible to deny the fact that she wanted him to win the match, there was no comparison between reaching the top in her career as a mage, and keeping next to her the one she really loved.

Events of the week came back to her, as she remembered how it began. Just a kiss, just to prove she could make a boy feel different, but what happened back there? It was supposed to be a simple act, to satisfy her own ego, when did she become so involved? Lucy couldn't find an answer for any of her questions, the only thing the blonde knew was that she needed Gray, because she loved him, and the thought of going back to how they were before making her heart sick, like it would stop beating without any warning.

Looking back to the fight, she notice Gray barely managing to stay on his toes. "Don't give up..." Lucy's voice left ever so softly.

Gray caught the fading voice coming from the audience and turned to check if he wasn't hallucinating. "Do you really want me to win?" The boy asked in disbelief.

"Of... course I do." The blonde flushed very hard and looked to all directions but to the brunette staring at her, she was happy to catch his attention, but extremely embarrassed due to her early actions towards her friend.

Refusing to acknowledge Natsu's presence, Gray slowly walked to wards his motivator, he stopped in front of her not wasting any time to hold the girl in a loving embrace. Lucy felt her tense muscles starting to relax, she returned the hug, and nuzzled in the ice maker's neck. "I'm sorry." Gray felt her voice like a soft breeze, it was all he needed to hear.

Several different reactions were spotted, but one in particular was far more intense than all the others together... Natsu's.

Roaring flames surrounded the fire mage, not waiting for anyone's approval to continue the fight.

Lucy paste a soft kiss on Gray's lips before breaking the contact between them. "If you win the fight, you'll get another, a better one, it's a promise." Lucy spoke in a low tone, still feeling a little abashed.

Gray's eyes shone with happiness, making Lucy laugh a bit. "Go get him." She giggled softly. The girl's voice was converted to sweet disposition in the ice maker's ears.

Once Gray was finished turning around, Natsu was already in front of him, directing a punch loaded with a huge amount of fire at him.

"Master, don't you think this is going too far, the result is obvious." Mira talked to Makarov while Gray only managed to dodge the fire mage's attacks.

"You'll soon find out power is nothing without control, Natsu is a natural brawler, but Gray is a born observant, you'll see what I mean." Makarov finished his speech with a tender smile.

The audience had to be replace somewhere far from the arena due to the mass destruction being provoked by the enraged salamander. The grandstand was no more, and the whole area around the main field was devastated by fire, leaving behind only ashes.

"It's getting dangerous." Levy stated obviously to her blonde friend. "Yeah..." Lucy couldn't maintain her worries inside anymore, she retrieved Gray's will to fight, but now, she was worried about the consequences.

Natsu stopped, breathing heavily, the fire mage was having a hard time chasing his rival. "Fight me! Stop running around!" He shouted loud enough to make Gray's ear hurt.

"Is that really what you want?" A confident grin appeared in the ice alchemist's face. "You're gonna regret it soon." This time he had a rather menacing smile.

"Bring it!" Natsu did never seem so eager to fight, the fire mage was possessed by rage, there was no turning back now.

Gray had peaceful features on his face, the air around him began to change from extremely hot to refreshing cool, his eyes turned deep blue and his hair froze, becoming spiky, his arms had a set of ice spikes coming out of it. Lucy was a little nervous with the sudden change, but couldn't deny the excitement she felt with the ice maker's new looks.

On the other side of the arena, a equally surprised salamander shook his head dispelling unwanted thoughts from his mind. "Just because you got new looks it doesn't mean you'll be able to beat me." He spoke clearly affected by Gray's new appearance. Not bothering the dragon slayers last comment the ice creator started to move towards his enemy in a slow pace.

Natsu noticed Gray had a serene look, like he didn't have anything to fear, as if the battle was already decided, it angered the boy and made him dashed ahead to the decisive part. Natsu launched a straight forward attack as Gray predicted.

_As long as he doesn't move his hands, I have nothing to worry about_. Natsu thought as he remembered how his rival's magic worked. "Here I go!" The fire mage jumped high and started decaying like a meteor. Gray didn't seem to mind Natsu's attack falling upon him, which made Lucy worried sick. The girl watched with concern, that magic looked painful why wouldn't Gray move out of its reach.

A quick glance back to the ice mage cleared all Lucy's doubts. Gray's lips curved to a small smile. "I got you." The boy spoke before the wild flames vanished from Natsu's surroundings. "What?" Was all Natsu managed to say before he started to feel the could air beginning to fill his lungs.

"Sugoi! The cold air was enough to extinguish Natsu's fire." Juvia commented, making Lyon feel jealous in the process.

"I do things like this all the time, Juvia-san." The boy retorted, trying to sound natural.

The dragon slayer fell with a kick, since his last attack failed. "Don't underestimate me, droopy-eyes!" The salamander spoke after connecting the strike. He took impulse from Gray's head doing a flip in the air and landing behind his opponent.

"Humph!" Natsu wiped his hands confident in his triumph.

"Oi! Do you plan to fight me backwards?" Gray spoke teasingly much to Natsu's despair. "You were supposed to be laying on the floor!" Natsu shouted with big eyes while pointing a finger to his friend.

"You were supposed to be fighting instead of joking around." Gray replied condly.

"Nani?" Natsu clenched his hands in fists. "You're going down!" He rushed with a battle cry, preparing another attack.

"Looks like Gray has gotten into trouble now." Erza calmly stated.

"It's better to save these comments for later." Jellal answered equally calm.

Natsu started throwing punches at the ice maker with amazing speed and force, his arms moved so firmly that the he pushed the air with each strike. Gray started countering and defending some of the punches.

"I see now!" The fire mage spotted an entrance in Gray's guard, aiming at it, he threw a kick and seemed to catch the ice alchemist unprepared. "Take that!" The kick connected, but Gray didn't move. Natsu couldn't believe his eyes, as right in front of him, a small but thick ice layer appeared out of nowhere to prevent the strike from successfully reach Gray.

"How the hell did you do that?" Natsu was out of control, his breathing was accelerated, his arms moved on its own, he continuously punched, just to have several pieces of hard ice blocking his way. No matter how much he tried, the material appeared in an amazing speed.

"Are you done playing with my new defense. You'll have to be faster than that." Gray spoke with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Temee! Don't you just stand there like you are unreachable, fight me!" The dragon slayer challenged, but it wasn't very effective.

"Baka! If you want it that much." Gray walked towards the ice mage freezing everything around him in his way. Spikes of ice rose from the floor, but Natsu easily avoided them, then ice darts appeared around Gray all pointed to his friend. The boy threw them all at once, Natsu rolled out of their way. "Don't tell me this is all you've got." The salamander teased. "Watch your step." Gray warned a bit too late. The floor became slippery with ice, making the fire mage fall on his back, with a huge ice stone already above his head, ready to fall.

"Natsu isn't a fast thinker, and Gray isn't giving him any time to think either. Do you think this is over?" Erza asked nonchalantly.

"We just need to wait." Jellal answered.

The ice stone fell, but was destroyed by rising flames. "Enough! You'll see what real power is now!" Natsu used his flames as a boost to launch himself over Gray, the ice wasn't able to match the speed this time, resulting in a headbutt straight to Gray's stomach. The cocky smile disappeared from the ice mage's face as he knelt in pain, the next thing he saw was Natsu's foot colliding against his chin. He felt his body being tossed from side to side as Natsu moved in great speed, before the ice maker could land anywhere, there was already another strike being directed at him. Natsu finished his sequence of fast punches with several hooks alternating between the left and the right hand on his friends stomach, the last one being on his chin, which made him fall motionless to the floor.

"See? I... told you... I'd win!" Natsu panted as he tried to recover his breath.

"I'm sorry, but I won't lose this easily." Said Gray still facing the floor.

"He endured all those punches. That's something to be considered, but he can't win now." Lyon said before sighing.

"Juvia believe Gray-kun can make it." The water mage said happily.

"Why are you cheering for him?" Lyon asked dumbstruck, fear beginning to take over his heart. Unfortunately. This question was left unanswered.

Gray stood once again, only this time, he had a more serious look. "Guess I underestimated you. It won't happen again." The boy closed his hand tightly besides his waist.

Natsu didn't wate any time thinking, and launched another set of punches, and once again, all of them collided. The audience was already singing Natsu's name, it looked like Gray wouldn't last long. Lucy kept gazing intensely, but despite her concentration, she wasn't worried, she was sure the ice alchemist knew exactly what he was doing.

With the guild cheering for him, Natsu kept hitting Gray, or what he believed to be Gray. A crack started to form on the ice maker's head, which caused the attacking boy to wonder if he hit his rival this hard. The fissure became larger, reaching the chest, and finally breaking the figure in little pieces.

"Behind you!" Someone warned the fire mage. He looked around to find Gray standing still at the other side of the arena.

"When did you?" The boy asked in confusion.

Spikes appeared horizontally around Gray, they floated and moved in a spiral motion. He decided to do the attacking this time, and moved to confront Natsu, his speed wasn't even close to match the fire mage's. "Don't make me laugh! You can't hit me with these. I'm faster!" Believing his overwhelming agility would be enough to avoid the spikes, Natsu headed towards Gray for a close combat style. It was then that Gray started sliding all his way to the salamander, which obviously made his speed increase considerably, ruining his opponent's timing. _Ice floor? When did he?_ Natsu wondered, but the only thing he could do was roll past Gray avoiding a single punch. "You missed!" The fire mage said almost teasingly. "Are you sure?" The ice creator did a spin in his ice, turning to look at the sliding Natsu. The dragon slayer moved backwards since he turned to face his rival.

Before another word could leave Natsu's lousy mouth, he felt his back hitting something very hard. "Ouch!" The boy whined. He didn't need to turn around to realize it was an ice wall, and a huge one.

Gray watched as the structure behind Natsu started to fall over the fire mage. With quick reflexes, Natsu was able to escape in the last second.

"You fell for it." The broken wall expanded, reaching Natsu's feet, and freezing them on the floor. "I'll simply melt the ice." Natsu looked down to free himself from the ice prison, when the sound of the guild cheering became louder, and Mira started talking.

"The winner of this match is..." Natsu didn't understand what in the world was happening, he did send a large pack of devastating blows towards the ice mage, but his opponent was still standing, wasn't him?

That's it, it had to be it, Natsu's lips converted into a smile, he just knew what had just happened, Gray fell to the floor, and they immediately stopped the match.

Natsu slowly lifted his head to see the S-Class title within his grasp, but...

"Gray!" Mira spoke in a loud voice, sending shivers down the salamander's spine.

What he saw was Gray's arms with blades coming out of them, pointed directly at the dragon slayer's face.

The pink-haired boy didn't want to believe what he saw. He lost, and in front of Lucy, in front of the whole guild. It was in fact a shock to the boy, but not only to him, to the other mages too, they saw Natsu surpassing every obstacle, like he was some kind of perfect hero, always finding a way to overcome the odds, even when they were all against him, something, or someone had always given the salamander the needed strength to continue. However, this time things were different.

Gray managed to beat his rival, and he didn't need to eat ice, or any other unusual kind of fuel, he didn't need to borrow Laxus' power to be able to fight, he had always relied on his own abilities, and for some times, they weren't enough, but that's just normal.

**No one can always win, Natsu should know that by now.**

The mages slowly started to approach the place where the two were fighting. "I have an important announcement to do." Mira informed.

"We already decided who is going to be S-Class. There is no need for another fight." The woman walked among the participants, carefully scanning each of them.

They all fell silence waiting for a response, the master was going too far with the suspense, they didn't deserve to be tortured like that. Hearts racing, muscles aching, minds traveling and eyes focused on the little old man and his companion.

"The two mages selected to be S-Class mages are...", Mira said in a singing tone. "Not here." She concluded much to everyone's horror.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

Another ruckus started with a lot of disappointment from the competitors, but also from the audience.

"Enough!" Makarov shouted. The man was little, but was still authority inside fairy tail, and his word was the last one. Silence became absolute until Makarov spoke again.

"I saw the power of a S-Class here, but it's the attitude of the S-Class that you're all missing." The master said in a serious tone.

"You think being a S-Class is all about having fearsome magic? You'll have to handle new responsibilities, new missions, everything will be different. That's why, none of you passed." One could say there was nothing to complain about in their current situation, but it would be a miserable lie. Everyone was caught off guard, it hurt them, still, they had to admit that the master was right.

Lucy desperately searched for Gray, she had so much to tell him, and it had to be now.

"Looking for me." Gray called the girl's attention as she walked past him without even noticing the him.

"Gray... I'm..." The ice mage covered her mouth with his. Lucy melt in the embrace, she didn't bother hiding from anyone anymore, she just wanted to be loved and love, and from now on, if it bothered anyone, they would have to deal with it.

"I love you." Gray finally spoke the words his friend waited so long to hear.

"I love you too." Lucy said crying once again, only this time, they were tears of happiness, she would stay with Gray, she would stay with him no matter what.

And like this Gray and Lucy's last day together came to an end, or so they thought.

_Fin_

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><p><strong>I'm sorry for the late update, please forgive me u.u<strong>

**I hope you had fun reading this chapter. Sorry for the spelling mistakes, and if anyone notices something out of place, please let me know, I spent a lot of time writing this one, so things might be messed up.**

**I'll see you guys later :)**


	8. Another monday

**Did you guys think it was over? No way!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Another monday<strong>

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><p>"It's time to go to bed, Melissa." Lucy said while running her fingers through a little girl's hair. "You have school tomorrow, go to bed now, or you'll be tired by morning."<p>

"What?" Is that it, mom? What happened after this? Didn't you and daddy become S-Class?" Asked Melissa while laying on Lucy's chest. The older blonde was twenty-seven years old, the younger was only five. They laid on a familiar couch, and it was around midnight now.

"We did, but this is a story for another day. I kept living with your father for at least... well, I never looked for another place to live, and I kind of didn't do it on purpose." Lucy smiled at the thought. "After you came, we had to move to a bigger house." Explained the woman caressing her daughter's hair. Lucy's child had her hair color, and used a side ponytail just like her mother used to. The only traces she earned from her father were her eyes, the little blonde had caramel droopy-eyes. "Why do you and daddy like sleeping on the couch so much?" Asked the curious girl. "Ah! That's because... we..." Lucy couldn't really say why, so she tried her best to change the subject.

"Daddy told me you didn't look for another place on purpose, he told me it is a secret," the girl stopped, realizing what she was doing, "and that I shouldn't tell... you." The innocent blonde spoke and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. "Oopsie." The way her daughter talked was so cute that Lucy couldn't find herself disappointed at her child keeping secrets from her.

"Tadaima." Their door was open revealing a shirtless Gray standing at the other side. "Daddy!" The little blonde jumped from Lucy's lap rushing towards her father. Gray ducked and his daughter jumped over him crossing her arms around his neck, then kissed the ice maker's cheeks more than he needed, but less than he wanted.

"I thought you left us." The girl confessed. "Every time I leave on a mission you say that." Gray replied, sounding indignant.

"Can I kiss daddy too?" Lucy approached them and gave her husband a quick peck on his lips.

"Ew, don't do this in front of me." Their little girl said, earning her a soft laugh from her mother. "Gray you should stop telling her things like, 'kissing boys is disgusting because they don't brush their teeth', she has to grow up too." Lucy hissed. "But not now." Gray simply replied. "My daughter is the cutest, every boy must be after her at school." The ice alchemist finished. "I have to agree with you at this point." Lucy giggled. Gray took a shower and joined his family for dinner.

After they finished dinning, they got ready to go to bed, but something unexpected happened. "Ne, Can I sleep with you tonight? I want to sleep with daddy, because I miss my daddy." The girl spoke with an adorable expression, and of course they wouldn't deny a request like this.

"Of course you can. Come with daddy." Gray picked her up and moved to his bed. Lucy followed close behind. They laid with their child between them, and then Lucy suddenly realized something was missing.

"Did you brush your teeth?" She asked already knowing the answer. "I didn't, but I'm sleepy and lazy, can I brush them tomorrow?" Answered the little blonde. "Of course you can." Gray replied before Lucy could say anything. "Gray!" The celestial spirit mage exclaimed. "Just for today that is." The ice alchemist reasoned. The girl slept peacefully after a couple of minutes, giving her parents a little privacy.

Gray was almost asleep when he felt something moving over his bed. "Lucy?" He opened his eyes to see his wife hovering over him. "I missed you." She leaned closer to kiss the man she loved, and he gladly accepted it. They kept the kiss in a slow pace, trying not to wake their child, but eventualy broke it and laid together for a while. "I couldn't have wished for a better life." Lucy suddenly spoke. "I have everything I need in this bed." The blonde's surprising comments reached Gray's heart making it warm. Despite not being able to describe his feelings as good as Lucy, he knew them well enough to give them names, and the only word that came to his mind whenever he tried to understand what he felt in that moment was 'happiness', something everybody strive to achieve, but just a few can actually say they found it. There was no doubt in his mind, he had it within his reach, his happiness was laying on top of him, his happiness was sleeping peacefully by his side.

"You're right." Gray answered running his hand down Lucy's cheek. A mutter could be heard from their side, they looked to find their child almost waking up. "We better sleep now." Gray suggested and Lucy nodded. The blonde moved back to her side of the bed, and hugged her daughter, her husband did the same at the other side. Their hands connected above the fruit of their love, and together they drifted to sleep.

All they wished for, all they fought for, it was all worth it in the end. In the good and bad times, like they promised in the altar, they saw a little of all the stages of love when they were still young, but at that age, Lucy already knew she wouldn't find a prince in Gray, but she found out the prince wasn't what she needed. Gray already knew they would argue once or twice when they started living together, but he discovered, he would miss everything about Lucy when she was absent, even the argues.

Tomorrow was their anniversary, and Gray will conveniently pretend he forgot, he'll make a surprise for Lucy at the restaurant they went to on their first date, of course they'll need someone to take care of their child for them, and this someone will be Natsu, who despite being severely damaged from their wedding, found inside himself the strength to move on, the courage to admit Lucy was happy with Gray and that they should stay like that.

One week... was all they needed to make them realize they needed to spend the year together, one year was not enough to make them feel tired of each other like it happens in these teenage loves, ten years have passed, the feeling haven't changed, their love has just grown, and even after all this time, they still do their best to make every week...

...feel like the first one.

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><p><strong>I'm really, really too tired to do any correcting now, I wrote this chapter along with the last one, I want to see you guys reactions to that supposed ending x)<strong>

**Why didn't you name their daughter? You ask me. Because I'd rather have one of you give me a name. If only one person suggest me a name, I'll name her after it, but if there are more, I'll wait one week and then choose. **

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><p><strong>I know it took me longer than I promised to name their daughter, but I finally did. I personally asked illa95 for a name, and she gave me some, but my favorite was Melissa. Thank you for the name illa95 :)<strong>

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><p><strong>What did you guys think? Please let me know. That's it for now! Thanks for all the reviews and the support. Bye! :)<strong>


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